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LIBRARY 


GIVEN  BY 


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ROBERTS  WMKER 
SCARSDALE.NEWYOKK 


^ 


HOW    JERUSALEM   WAS    WON 


BY   THE  SAME  author 

THE    DESERT 
CAMPAIGNS 

BY 

W.   T.   MASSEY 

Oj^cial  Corrtspondent  "with  the 
Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force 

Crou'H  IIt'o  68.  lut 

An  Account  of  the  work  of  the  Imperial 
Forces  in  the  Deserts  of  Egypt  and 
Sinai.  Illustrated  with  Drawings  by 
Jamks  M'Hey,  taken  on  the  spot  for 
His  Majesty's  Government. 


'  This  record,  by  the  correspondent  who  was 
selected  by  the  Chief  London  Newspapers  to 
accompany  the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force, 
will  serve  to  bring  home  to  the  British  Public 
the  great  work  done  by  our  arms  in  keeping  open 
the  gateway  between  P'a^t  and  West." —  Times 
Literary  Supplement. 

'Mr  Massey  .  .  .  tells  his  story  well  and 
simply.' — The  Observer. 

'The  admirable  drawings  by  Mr  James  M'Bey, 
the  official  artist  with  the  E.  E.  F.,  add  greatly 
to  the  pleasure  of  reading  this  excellent  little 
history.' — Morning;  Post. 


OFFICIAL  ENTRY  INTO    IMK  IIOLV  (TIV.     (iKXFRAL  ALLFNP.V 

RECEIVED  BY  THF   Mn.rPARY  dOYERXOR  OF   lERUSALEM. 

Dec.   II,   1917 


HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

BEING    THE    RECORD    OF 

ALLENBY'S  CAMPAIGN  IN 

PALESTINE 

BY 

W.    T.    MASSEY 

OFFICIAL  CORRESPONDENT  OF  THE  LONDON 

NEWSPAPERS  WITH  THE  EGYPTIAN 

EXPEDITIONARY  FORCE 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

597-599   FIFTH   AVENUE 

1920 


j    ROBERTS  WALKER 
|SCARSDALE,NEWYORK 


Ct/iA-     £^ 


Printed* in  Cfreat  Britain 


.  .*     ••  •     •   • 

•       •  • 


•       •    • 


t>l3?33 


{^ 

PREFACE 

.  This  narrative  of  the  work  accomplished  for  civilisa- 
-^tion  by  Greneral  Allenby's  Army  is  carried  only  as  far 
as  the  occupation  of  Jericho.  The  capture  of  that 
ancient  town,  with  the  possession  of  a  Hne  of  rugged 
hills  a  dozen  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  secured  the 
Holy  City  from  any  Turkish  attempt  to  retake  it. 
The  book,  in  fact,  tells  the  story  of  the  twenty-third 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  one  of  the  most  beneficent  happen- 
ings of  all  wars,  and  marking  an  epoch  in  the  wonderful 
history  of  the  Holy  Place  which  will  rank  second  only 
to  that  era  which  saw  the  birth  of  Christianity.  All 
that  occurred  in  the  fighting  on  the  Gaza-Beersheba 
hne  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  taking  of  Jerusalem, 
the  freeing  of  which  from  four  centuries  of  Turkish 
domination  was  the  object  of  the  first  part  of  the 
campaign.  The  Holy  City  was  the  goal  sought  by 
every  officer  and  man  in  the  Army  ;  and  though  from 
the  moment  that  goal  had  been  attained  all  energies 
were  concentrated  upon  driving  the  Turk  out  of  the 
war,  there  was  not  a  member  of  the  Force,  from  the 
highest  on  the  Staff  to  the  humblest  private  in  the 
ranks,  who  did  not  feel  that  Jerusalem  was  the 
greatest  prize  of  the  campaign. 

In  a  second  volume  I  shall  tell  of  that  tremendous 
feat  of  arms  which  overwhelmed  the  Turkish  Armies, 
drove  them  through  400  miles  of  country  in  six 
weeks,  and  gave  cavaby  an  opportunity  of  proving 


vi  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

that,  despite  all  the  arts  and  devices  of  modern  war- 
fare, with  fighters  and  observers  in  the  air  and  an 
entirely  new  mechanism  of  war,  they  continued  as 
indispensable  a  part  of  an  army  as  when  the  legions 
of  old  took  the  field.  This  is  too  long  a  story  to  be 
told  in  this  volume,  though  the  details  of  that  mag- 
nificent triumph  are  so  firmly  impressed  on  the  mind 
that  one  is  loth  to  leave  the  narration  of  them  to  a 
future  date.  For  the  moment  Jerusalem  must  be 
suthcient,  and  if  in  the  telling  of  the  British  work  up 
to  that  point  I  can  succeed  in  giving  an  idea  of  the 
immense  value  of  General  Allenby's  Army  to  the 
Empire,  of  the  soldier's  courage  and  fortitude,  of  his 
indomitable  will  and  self-sacrifice  and  patriotism,  it 
will  indeed  prove  the  most  grateful  task  I  have  ever 
set  myself. 

April  1919. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  PALESTINE'S  INFLUENCE  ON  THE  WAR 

II.  OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS    . 

III.  DIFFICULTIES   OF  THE  ATTACK 

IV.  TRAINING  THE  ARMY    . 
V.  RAILWAYS,   ROADS,   AND   THE   BASE 

VL   PREPARING  FOR   'ZERO  DAY'    . 
VII.   THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY 
VIII.   GAZA  DEFENCES 
IX.   CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT 
X.   THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN 
XI.   TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES 
XII.   LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM 

XIII.  INTO  THE  JUDEAN   HILLS 

XIV.  THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE   HOLY   CITY 
XV.   GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY 

XVI.   MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE    . 
XVII.   A  GREAT  FEAT   OF  WAR 
XVIII.   BY   THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN 
XIX.   THE  TOUCH   OF  THE  CIVILISING  HAND 
XX.   OUR  CONQUERING  AIRMEN 

APPENDICES       .... 
INDEX  ..... 


1 

7 

18 

26 

32 

42 

53 

67 

81 

96 

112 

126 

137 

158 

19o 

211 

232 

245 

254 

259 

265 

293 


LIST   OF   MAPS 

FACING   PAOK 

Plan  of  Southern  Palestine  .....  7 

Plan  of  Gaza-Beersheba  Line         ....  94 

Plan  of  the  Beth-Horon  Country          .         .         .  156 

Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Jerusalem           .         .         .  194 


Tiii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Official  Entry  into  the  Holy  City.  General  Allenby 
received  by  the  military  governor  of  jerusalem, 
December  11,  1917 Frontisfiece 

FACING   PAGE 

EIantara  Terminus  of  the  Desert  Military  Eailway  .  20  ' 


East  Force  H.Q.  Dug-outs  near  Gaza 

Wadi  Ghuzze  near  Shellal  .... 

Our  Waterworks  at  Shellal       .... 

On  the  Move  in  the  Desert        .... 
The  Great  Mosque  at  Gaza         .... 

Turkish  Headquarters  at  Gaza.   Note  the  Crusader  Lion 

in  Wall 

A  Desert  Motor  Koad  near  Shellal  .    -    . 

Turkish  Dug-outs  at  Gaza 

Beersheba    Railway    Station    with    Mined    Rolling 
Stock 


Lieut.-Gen.   Sir  Harry    Chauvel    outside    Beersheba 

Mosque,  November  1,  1917      .... 
El  Mughar.    The  Scene  of  a  Yeomanry  Charge 

Burial-place  of  St.  George,  Patron  Saint  of  England 
(at  Ludd)        ........ 

Yeomanry  Graves  at  Beth-horon  the  Upper,  where 
Joshua  commanded  the  Sun  to  remain  still  to 
enable  the  Israelites  to  overthrow  the  Philis- 
tines  


In  the  Judean  Hills 

A  Roman  Centurion's  Tomb,  Kuryet  el  Enab 


21 

32 
33 

46 
47 


56 
67 

78 
79 

114 
115 

126 


127 

140 
141 


X  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

KACISO    PAOIt 

One  of  King  Solomon's  Pools 162 

A  Typical  New  Zealandeii 163 

Wadi  Surar,  crossed  by  London  Territorials  on  the 
Morning  of  their  Assault  on  the  Jerusalem  De- 
fences       ........  176 

The  Deib  Yesin  Position  west  of  Jerusalem     .         .  177 

Eastern  Face  of  Nebi  Samwil  Mosque,  showing  De- 
struction BY  Turkish  Shell-fire           .         .         .  192 

Official  Entry  into  the  Holy  City.    General  Allenby 

arriving  outside  the  Jaffa  Gate           .         .         .  193 

Officlal    Entry.    General    Allenby    receiving    the 

Mayor  of  Jerusalem  (a  descendant  of  Mahomet)  208 

Jerusalem  from  Mount  of  Olives        ....  209 

Jerusalem  from  Garden  of  Gethsemane      .         .         .  216 
Panel  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria. 

Hospice  on  the  Mount  of  Oliv^bs          .         .         .  217 

Bethlehem 226 

Church  of  the  Nativity,  Bethlehem  ....  227 

Ain  Kartm,  Part  of  the  Jerusalem  Defences     .         .  234 

River  Auja,  crossed  at  Night  by  Lowland  Territorials  236 


Jerisheh  Mill,  River  Auja,  one  of  the  Lowlanders 

Crossings 

Barrel  Bridge  over  the  River  Auja 

Destroyed  Bridge  on  the  Jericho  Road    . 

The  Wilderness,  with  a  Glimpse  of  the  Dead  Sea 

Londoners'  Bridge  over  the  Jordan.    The  River  is 

in  Flood         

German  Prisoners  crossing  the  Jordan 

New  Zealand  Mounted  Rifles  at  Bethlehem 
A  Hairpin  Bend  on  the  Jerusalem  Road    . 


242 
243 

248 
249 

252 
253 

258 
259 


CHAPTER  I 

PALESTINE'S  INFLUENCE  ON  THE  WAR 

In  a  war  which  involved  the  peoples  of  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe  it  was  to  be  expected  that  on 
the  world's  oldest  battleground  would  be  renewed 
the  scenes  of  conflict  of  bygone  ages.  There  was 
perhaps  a  desire  of  some  elements  of  both  sides, 
certainly  it  was  the  unanimous  wish  of  the  AUies, 
to  avoid  the  clash  of  arms  in  Palestine,  and  to  leave 
untouched  by  armies  a  land  held  in  reverence  by 
three  of  the  great  rehgions  of  the  world.  But  this 
ancient  cockpit  of  warring  races  could  not  escape. 
The  will  of  those  who  broke  the  peace  prevailed. 
Germany's  dream  of  Eastern  Empires  and  world 
domination,  the  lust  of  conquest  of  the  Kaiser  party, 
required  that  the  tide  of  war  should  once  more  surge 
across  the  land,  and  if  the  conquering  hosts  left 
fewer  traces  of  war  wreckage  than  were  to  be  expected 
in  their  victorious  march,  it  was  due  not  to  any 
anxiety  of  our  foes  to  avoid  conflict  about,  and 
damage  to,  places  with  hallowed  associations,  but 
to  the  masterly  strategy  of  the  British  Commander- 
in-Chief  who  manoeuvred  the  Turkish  Armies  out  of 
positions  defending  the  sacred  sites. 

The  people  of  to-day  who  have  lived  through  the 
war,  who  have  had  their  view  bewildered  by  ever- 
recurring  anxieties,  by  hopes  shattered  and  fears 
realised,  by  a  succession  of  victories  and  defeats  on 
a  colossal  scale,  and  by  a  sudden  collapse  of  the 
enemy,  may  fail  to  see  the  Palestine  campaign  in 


4  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

service  elsewhere,  but  to  recruit  a  large  force  of  Indians 
for  the  Empire's  work  in  other  climes.  Bagdad  was 
a  tremendous  blow  to  German  ambitions.  The  loss 
of  it  spelt  ruin  to  those  hopes  of  Eastern  conquest 
which  had  prompted  the  German  intrigues  in  Turkey, 
and  it  was  certain  that  the  Kaiser,  so  long  as  he 
beheved  in  ultimate  victory,  would  refuse  to  accept 
the  loss  of  Bagdad  as  final.  Russia's  withdrawal 
as  a  belligerent  released  a  large  body  of  Turkish 
troops  in  the  Caucasus,  and  set  free  many  Germans, 
particularly  '  technical  troops  '  of  which  the  Turks 
stood  in  need,  for  other  fronts.  It  was  then  that  the 
German  High  Command  conceived  a  scheme  for 
retaking  Bagdad,  and  the  redoubtable  von  Ealken- 
hayn  was  sent  to  Constantinople  charged  with  the 
preparations  for  the  undertaking.  Certain  it  is  that 
it  would  have  been  put  into  execution  but  for  the 
situation  created  by  the  presence  of  a  large  British 
Army  in  the  Sinai  Peninsula.  A  large  force  was 
collected  about  Aleppo  for  a  march  down  the  Eu- 
phrates valley,  and  the  winter  of  1917-18  would 
have  witnessed  a  stern  struggle  for  supremacy  in 
Mesopotamia  if  the  War  Cabinet  had  not  decided  to 
force  the  Turks  to  accept  battle  where  they  least 
wanted  it. 

The  views  of  the  British  War  Cabinet  on  the  war 
in  the  East,  at  any  rate,  were  sound  and  solid.  They 
concentrated  on  one  big  campaign,  and,  profiting 
from  past  mistakes  which  led  to  a  wastage  of  strength, 
allowed  all  the  weight  they  could  spare  to  be  thrown 
into  the  Eg3^tian  Expeditionary  Force  under  a 
General  who  had  proved  his  high  military  capacity 
in  France,  and  in  whom  all  ranks  had  complete  con- 
fidence, and  they  permitted  the  Mesopotamian  and 
Salonika  Armies  to  contain  the  enemies  on  their  fronts 
while  the  Army  in  Palestine  set  out  to  crush  the  Turks 


PALESTINE'S  INFLUENCE  ON  THE  WAR    5 

at  what  proved  to  be  their  most  vital  point.  As  to 
whether  the  force  available  on  our  Mesopotamia 
front  was  capable  of  defeating  the  German  scheme 
I  cannot  offer  an  opinion,  but  it  is  beyond  all  question 
that  the  conduct  of  operations  in  Palestine  on  a  plan 
at  once  bold,  resolute,  and  worthy  of  a  high  place  in 
mihtary  history  saved  the  Empire  much  anxiety 
over  our  position  in  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valleys, 
and  probably  prevented  unrest  on  the  frontiers  of 
India  and  in  India  itself,  where  mischief  makers  were 
actively  working  in  the  German  cause.  Nor  can 
there  be  any  doubt  that  the  brilliant  campaign  in 
Palestine  prevented  British  and  French  influence 
declining  among  the  Mahomedan  populations  of 
those  countries'  respective  spheres  of  control  in  Africa. 
Indeed  I  regard  it  as  incontrovertible  that  the 
Palestine  strategy  of  General  Allenby,  even  apart 
from  his  stupendous  rush  through  Syria  in  the 
autumn  of  the  last  year  of  war,  did  as  much  to  end 
the  war  in  1918  as  the  great  battles  on  the  Western 
Front,  for  if  there  had  been  failure  or  check  in 
Palestine  some  British  and  French  troops  in  France 
might  have  had  to  be  detached  to  other  fronts,  and 
the  Germans'  effort  in  the  Spring  might  have  pushed 
their  line  farther  towards  the  Channel  and  Paris.  If 
Bagdad  was  not  actually  saved  in  Palestine,  an  ex- 
pedition against  it  was  certainly  stopped  by  our 
Army  operating  on  the  old  battlegrounds  in  Palestine. 
We  lost  many  lives,  and  it  cost  us  a  vast  amount  of 
money,  but  the  sacrifices  of  brave  men  contributed 
to  the  saving  of  the  world  from  German  domination ; 
and  high  as  the  British  name  stood  in  the  East  as 
the  upholder  of  the  freedom  of  peoples,  the  fame  of 
Britain  for  justice,  fair  dealing,  and  honesty  is  wider 
and  more  firmly  estabHshed  to-day  because  the  people 
have  seen  it  emerge  triumphantly  from  a  supreme  test. 


6  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

In  the  strategy  of  the  w  orld  war  we  made,  no  doubt, 
many  mistakes,  but  in  Palestine  the  strategy  was  of 
the  best,  and  in  the  working  out  of  a  far-seeing  scheme, 
victories  so  iniiucnced  events  that  on  this  front  began 
the  fhial  phase  of  the  war — once  Turkey  was  beaten, 
Bulgaria  and  Austria-Hungary  submitted  and  Ger- 
many acknowledged  the  inevitable.  Falkenhayn 
saw  that  the  Bagdad  undertaking  was  impossible  so 
long  as  we  were  dangerous  on  the  Palestine  front, 
and  General  Allenby's  attack  on  the  Gaza  hne  wiped 
the  Bagdad  enterprise  out  of  the  list  of  German 
ambitions.  The  plan  of  battle  on  the  Gaza-Beer- 
sheba  line  resembled  in  miniature  the  ending  of  the 
war.  If  we  take  Beersheba  for  Turkey,  Sheria  and 
Hareira  for  Bulgaria  and  Austria,  and  Gaza  for 
Germany,  we  get  the  exact  progress  of  events  in 
the  final  stage,  except  that  Bulgaria's  submission 
was  an  intelligent  anticipation  of  the  laying  down  of 
their  arms  by  the  Turks.  Gaza- Beersheba  was  a 
rolling  up  from  our  right  to  left ;  so  was  the  ending 
of  the  Hun  aUiance. 


Consiabi*  k  Co.  Ltd, 


CHAPTER  IT 

OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS 

It  was  in  accordance  with  the  fitness  of  things  that 
the  British  Army  should  fight  and  conquer  on  the 
very  spots  consecrated  by  the  memories  of  the  most 
famous  battles  of  old.  From  Gaza  onwards  we  made 
our  progress  by  the  most  ancient  road  on  earth,  for 
this  way  moved  commerce  between  the  Euphrates 
and  the  NRe  many  centuries  before  the  East  knew 
West.  We  fought  on  fields  which  had  been  the  battle- 
grounds of  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  armies,  where 
Hittites,  Ethiopians,  Persians,  Parthians,  and  Mongols 
poured  out  their  blood  in  times  when  kingdoms  were 
strong  by  the  sword  alone.  The  Ptolemies  invaded 
Syria  by  this  way,  and  here  the  Greeks  put  their 
colonising  hands  on  the  country.  Alexander  the 
Great  made  this  his  route  to  Egypt.  Pompey 
marched  over  the  Maritime  Plain  and  inaugurated 
that  Roman  rule  which  lasted  for  centuries  ;  till 
Islam  made  its  wide  irresistible  sweep  in  the  seventh 
century.  Then  the  Crusaders  fought  and  won  and 
lost,  and  Napoleon's  ambitions  in  the  East  were 
wrecked  just  beyond  the  plains. 

Up  the  Maritime  Plain  we  battled  at  Gaza,  every 
yard  of  which  had  been  contested  by  the  armies  of 
mighty  kings  in  the  past  thirty-five  centuries,  at 
Akir,  Gezer,  Lydda,  and  around  Joppa.  All  down 
the  ages  armies  have  moved  in  victory  or  flight  over 
this  plain,  and  General  AUenby  in  his  advance  was 
but  repeating  history.     And  when  the  Turks  had 


8  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

been  driven  beyond  the  Plain  of  Philistia,  and  the 
Ck)mmander-in-Chief  had  to  decide  how  to  take 
Jerusalem,  we  saw  the  British  force  move  along 
precisely  the  same  route  that  has  been  taken  by 
armies  since  the  time  when  Joshua  overcame  the 
Amorites  and  the  day  was  lengthened  by  the  sun 
and  moon  standing  still  till  the  battle  was  won. 
Greography  had  its  influence  on  the  strategy  of  to-day 
as  completely  as  it  did  when  armies  were  not  cum- 
bered with  guns  and  mechanical  transport.  Of  the  few 
passes  from  the  Maritime  Plain  over  the  Shephelah 
into  the  Judean  range  only  that  emerging  from 
the  green  Vale  of  Ajalon  was  possible,  if  we  were  to 
take  Jerusalem,  as  the  great  captains  of  old  took  it, 
from  the  north.  The  Syrians  sometimes  chose  this 
road  in  preference  to  advancing  through  Samaria, 
the  Romans  suffered  retreat  on  it,  Richard  Coeur  de 
Lion  made  it  the  path  for  his  approach  towards  the 
Holy  City,  and,  precisely  as  in  Joshua's  day  and  as 
when  in  the  first  century  the  Romans  fell  victims  to 
a  tremendous  Jewish  onslaught,  the  fighting  was 
hardest  about  the  Beth-horons,  but  with  a  different 
result — the  invaders  were  victorious.  The  corps 
which  actually  took  Jerusalem  advanced  up  the  new 
road  from  Latron  through  Kuryet  el  Enab,  identified 
by  some  as  Kirjath-jearim  where  the  Philistines 
returned  the  Ark,  but  that  road  would  have  been 
denied  to  us  if  we  had  not  made  good  the  ancient 
path  from  the  Vale  of  Ajalon  to  Gibeon.  Jerusalem 
was  won  by  the  fighting  at  the  Beth-horons  as 
surely  as  it  was  on  the  line  of  hills  above  the  wadi 
Surar  which  the  Londoners  carried.  There  was 
fighting  at  Gibeon,  at  Michmas,  at  Beeroth,  at  Ai, 
and  numerous  other  places  made  familiar  to  us  by 
the  Old  Testament,  and  assuredly  no  army  went 
forth  to  battle  on  more  hallowed  soil. 


OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS  9 

Of  all  the  armies  which  earned  a  place  in  history 
in  Palestine,  General  Allenby's  was  the  greatest — the 
greatest  in  size,  in  equipment,  in  quality,  in  fighting 
power,  and  not  even  the  invading  armies  in  the  ro- 
mantic days  of  the  Crusades  could  equal  it  in  chivalry. 
It  fought  the  strong  fight  with  clean  hands  through- 
out, and  finished  without  a  blemish  on  its  conduct. 
It  was  the  best  of  all  the  conquering  armies  seen  in 
the  Holy  Land  as  well  as  the  greatest.  Will  not  the 
influence  of  this  Army  endure  ?  I  think  so.  There 
is  an  awakening  in  Palestine,  not  merely  of  Christians 
and  Jews,  but  of  Moslems,  too,  in  a  less  degree. 
During  the  last  thirty  years  there  have  grown  more 
signs  of  the  deep  faiths  of  peoples  and  of  their  venera- 
tion of  this  land  of  sacred  history.  If  their  insti- 
tutions and  missions  could  develop  and  shed  light 
over  Palestine  even  while  the  slothful  and  corrupt 
Turk  ruled  the  land,  how  much  faster  and  more  in 
keeping  with  the  sanctity  of  the  country  will  the  im- 
provement be  under  British  protection  ?  The  graves 
of  our  soldiers  dotted  over  desert  wastes  and  corn- 
fields, on  barren  hills  and  in  fertile  valleys,  ay,  and 
on  the  Mount  of  OHves  where  the  Saviour  trod,  will 
mark  an  era  more  truly  grand  and  inspiring,  and 
offer  a  far  greater  lesson  to  future  generations  than 
the  Crusades  or  any  other  invasion  down  the  track 
of  time.  The  Army  of  General  Allenby  responded 
to  the  happy  thought  of  the  Commander-in-Chief 
and  contributed  one  day's  pay  for  the  erection  of  a 
memorial  near  Jerusalem  in  honour  of  its  heroic  dead. 
Apart  from  the  holy  sites,  no  other  memorial  will  be 
revered  so  much,  and  future  pilgrims,  to  whatever 
faith  they  belong,  will  look  upon  it  as  a  monument  to 
men  who  went  to  battle  to  bring  lasting  peace  to  a 
land  from  which  the  Word  of  Peace  and  Goodwill 
went  forth  to  mankind. 


10  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

In  selecting  General  Sir  Edmund  Allenby  as  the 
Palestine  Army's  chief  the  War  Cabinet  made  a  happy 
choice.     General  Sir  Archibald  Murray  was  recalled 
to  take  up  an  important  command  at  home  after 
the   two   unsuccessful   attempts  to  drive  the  Turks 
from    the   Gaza   defences.     The   troops    at  General 
Murray's  disposal  were  not  strong  enough  to  take 
the  offensive  again,   and    it   was   clear   there   must 
be  a  long  period  of  preparation  for  an  attack  on  a 
large  scale.     General  Allenby  brought  to  the  East  a 
lengthy  experience  of  fighting  on  the  Western  Front, 
where  his  deliberate  methods  of  attack,  notably  at 
Arras,  had  given  the  Alhes  victories  over  the  cleverest 
and  bravest  of  our  enemies.     Palestine  was  likely  to 
be  a  cavalry,  as  well  as  an  infantry,  campaign,  or  at 
any  rate  the  theatre  of  war  in  which  the  mounted 
arm  could  be  employed  with  the  most  fruitful  of 
results.     General  Allenby' s  achievements  as  a  cavalry 
leader  in  the  early  days  of  the  war  marked  him  as 
the  one  officer  of  high  rank  suited  for  the  Palestine 
command,  and  his  proved  capacity  as  a  General  both 
in  open  and  in  trench  warfare  gave  the  Army  that 
high  degree  of  confidence  in  its  Commander-in-Chief 
which  it  is  so  necessary  that  a  big  fighting  force  should 
possess.     A     tremendously    hard    worker     himself. 
General  Allenby  expected  all  under  him  to  concen- 
trate the  whole  of  their  energies  on  their  work.     He 
had  the  faculty  for  getting  the  best  out  of  his  officers, 
and  on  his  Staff  were  some  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
soldiers  in  the  service.     There  was  no  room  for  an 
inefficient  leader  in  any  branch  of  the  force,  and  the 
knowledge  that  the  Commander-in-Chief  valued  the 
lives  and  the  health  of  his  men  so  highly  that  he  would 
not  risk  a  failure,  kept  all  the  staffs  tuned  up  to  concert 
pitch.     We  saw  many  changes,  and  the  best  men  came 
to  the  top.     His  own  vigour  infected  the  whole  com- 


OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS  11 

mand,  and  within  a  short  while  of  arriving  at  the 
front  the  efficiency  of  the  Army  was  considerably 
increased. 

The   Palestine   G.H.Q.    was  probably  nearer   the 
battle  front  than  any  G.H.Q.  in  other   theatres   of 
operations,  and  when  the  Army  had  broken  through 
and  chased  the  enemy  beyond  the   Jaffa- Jerusalem 
line,  G.H.Q.  was  opened  at  Bir  Salem,  near  Ramleh, 
and  for  several  months  was  actually  within  reach  of 
the  long-range  guns  which  the  Turks  possessed.    The 
rank  and  file  were  not  slow  to  appreciate  this.     They 
knew  their   Commander-in-Chief  was  on  the   spot, 
keeping  his  eye  and  hand  on  everything,  organising 
with    his    organisers,    planning    with    his    operation 
staff,  familiar  with  every  detail  of  the  complicated 
transport  system,  watching  his  supply  services  with 
the  keenness  of  a  quartermaster- general,  and  taking 
that  lively  interest  in  the  medical  branch  whrch  be- 
trayed an  anxious  desire  for  the  welfare  and  health 
of  the  men.     The  rank  and  file  knew  something  more 
than   this.     They   saw   the   Commander-in-Chief   at 
the  front  every  day.     General  Allenby  did  not  rely 
solely  on  reports  from  his  corps.     He  went  to  each 
section  of  the  line  himself,  and  before  practically 
every  major  operation  he  saw  the  ground  and  ex- 
amined the  scheme  for  attack.     There  was  not  a 
part  of  the  line  he  did  not  know,  and  no  one  will 
contradict  me  when  I  say  that  the  military  roads  in 
Palestine  were  known  by  no  one  better  than  the 
driver  of  the  Commander-in-Chief's  car.     A  man  of 
few   words.  General   Allenby  always   said   what   he 
meant  with  soldierly  directness,  which  made  the  thanks 
he  gave  a  rich  reward.     A  good  piece  of  work  brought 
a  written  or  oral  message  of  thanks,  and  the  men 
were  satisfied  they  had  done  well  to  deserve  con- 
gratulations.    They  were  proud  to  have  the  con- 


12  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

fidence  of  such  a  Chief  and  to  deserve  it,  and  they 
in  their  turn  had  such  unbounded  faith  in  the  miUtary 
judgment  of  the  General  and  in  the  care  he  took  to 
prevent  unnecessary  risk  of  life,  that  there  was  nothing 
which  he  sanctioned  that  they  would  not  attempt. 
Such  mutual  confidence  breeds  strength,  and  it  was 
the  Commander-in-Chief's  example,  his  tact,  energy, 
and  military  genius  which  made  his  Army  a  potent 
power  for  Britain  and  a  strong  pillar  of  the  Allies' 
cause. 

Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  General  Allenby  in  his 
victorious  campaign  shone  only  as  a  great  soldier. 
He  was  also  a  great  administrator.  In  England  little 
was  known  about  this  part  of  the  General's  work, 
and  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  the  task  and  to  the 
consideration  which  had,  and  still  has,  to  be  show^n  to 
the  susceptibilities  of  a  number  of  friendly  nations 
and  peoples,  it  may  be  long  before  the  full  story  of 
the  administration  of  the  occupied  territory  in 
Palestine  is  unfolded  for  general  appreciation.  It 
is  a  good  story,  worthy  of  Britain's  record  as  a  pro- 
tector of  peoples,  and  though  from  the  nature  of  his 
conquest  over  the  Turks  in  the  Bible  country  the  name 
of  General  Allenby  will  adorn  the  pages  of  history 
principally  as  a  victor,  it  will  also  stand  before  the 
governments  of  states  as  setting  a  model  for  a  wise, 
prudent,  considerate,  even  benevolent,  administration 
of  occupied  enemy  territory.  In  days  when  Powers 
driven  mad  by  military  ambition  tear  up  treaties  as 
scraps  of  paper.  General  Allenby  observed  the  spirit  as 
well  as  the  letter  of  the  Hague  Convention,  and  found 
it  possible  to  apply  to  occupied  territory  the  prin- 
ciples of  administration  as  laid  down  in  the  Manual 
of  Military  Law. 

The  natives  marvelled  at  the  change.  In  place  of 
insecurity,  extortion,  bribery  and  corruption,  levies 


OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS  13 

on  labour  and  property  and  all  the  evils  of  Turkish 
government,  General  Allenby  gave  the  country  behind 
the  front  Hne  peace,  justice,  fair  treatment  of  every 
race  and  creed,  and  a  jQrm  and  equitable  adminis- 
tration of  the  law.  Every  man's  house  became  his 
castle.  Taxes  were  readily  paid,  the  tax  gatherers 
were  honest  servants,  and,  none  of  the  revenue  going 
to  keep  fat  pashas  in  luxury  in  Constantinople,  there 
came  a  prospect  of  expenditure  and  revenue  balancing 
after  much  money  had  been  usefully  spent  on  local 
government.  Until  the  signing  of  peace  interna- 
tional law  provided  that  Turkish  laws  should  apply. 
These,  properly  administered,  as  they  never  were  by 
the  Turks,  gave  a  basis  of  good  government,  and, 
with  the  old  abuses  connected  with  the  collection  of 
revenue  removed,  and  certain  increased  taxation  and 
customs  dues  imposed  by  the  Turks  during  the  war 
discontinued,  the  people  resumed  the  arts  of  peace 
and  enjoyed  a  degree  of  prosperity  none  of  them  had 
ever  anticipated.  What  the  future  government  of 
Palestine  may  be  is  uncertain  at  the  time  of  writing. 
There  is  talk  of  international  control — we  seem  ever 
ready  to  lose  at  the  conference  table  what  a  vaUant 
sword  has  gained  for  us — ^but  the  careful  and  per- 
fectly correct  administration  of  General  Allenby  will 
save  us  from  the  criticism  of  many  jealous  foreigners. 
Certainly  it  will  bear  examination  by  any  impartial 
investigator,  but  the  best  of  all  tributes  that  could 
be  paid  to  it  is  that  it  satisfied  religious  communities 
which  did  not  live  in  perfect  harmony  with  one 
another  and  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  which 
shelters  the  people  of  many  different  races. 

The  Yilderim  undertaking,  as  the  Bagdad  scheme 
was  described,  did  not  meet  with  the  full  acceptance 
of  the  Turks.  The  '  mighty  Jemal,'  as  the  Germans 
sneeringly  called  the  Commander  of  the  Syrian  Army, 


14  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

opposed  it  as  weakening  his  prospects,  and  even  Enver, 
the  ambitious  creature  and  tool  of  Germany,  post- 
poned his  approval.  It  would  seem  the  taking  over  of 
the  command  of  the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force 
by  General  Allenby  set  the  Turks  thinking,  and  made 
the  German  Military  Mission  in  Constanthiople 
reconsider  their  plans,  not  with  a  view  to  a  complete 
abandonment  of  the  proposal  to  advance  on  Bagdad, 
as  would  have  been  wise,  but  in  order  to  see  how  few 
of  the  Yilderim  troops  they  could  allot  to  Jemal's 
army  to  make  safe  the  Sinai  front.  There  was  an 
all-important  meeting  of  Turkish  Generals  in  the 
latter  half  of  August,  and  Jemal  stood  to  his  guns. 
Von  Falkenhayn  could  not  get  him  to  abate  one  item 
of  his  demands,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
Falkenhayn,  obsessed  though  he  was  with  the  im- 
portance of  getting  Bagdad,  could  see  that  Jemal 
was  right.  He  admitted  that  the  Yilderim  opera- 
tion was  only  practicable  if  it  had  freedom  for  retire- 
ment through  the  removal  of  the  danger  on  the 
Palestine  front.  With  that  end  in  view  he  advocated 
that  the  British  should  be  attacked,  and  suggested 
that  two  divisions  and  the  '  Asia  Corps '  should  be 
sent  from  Aleppo  to  move  round  our  right.  Jemal 
was  in  favour  of  defensive  action ;  Enver  pro- 
crastinated and  proposed  sending  one  division  to 
strengthen  the  IVth  Army  on  the  Gaza  front  and  to 
proceed  with  the  Bagdad  preparations.  The  wait- 
and-see  policy  prevailed,  but  long  before  we  exerted 
our  full  strength  Bagdad  was  out  of  the  danger  zone. 
General  Allenby' s  force  was  so  disposed  that  any 
suggestion  of  the  Yilderim  operation  being  put  into 
execution  was  ruled  out  of  consideration. 

Several  documents  captured  at  Yilderim  head- 
quarters at  Nazareth  in  September  1918,  when 
General  Allenby  made  his  big  drive  through  Syria, 


OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS  15 

show  very  clearly  how  our  Palestine  operations 
changed  the  whole  of  the  German  plans,  and  reading 
between  the  lines  one  can  realise  how  the  impatience 
of  the  Germans  was  increasing  Turkish  stubbornness 
and  creating  friction  and  ill-feeling.  The  German 
military  character  brooks  no  opposition  ;  the  Turks 
like  to  postpone  till  to-morrow  what  should  be  done 
to-day.  The  latter  were  cocksure  after  their  two 
successes  at  Gaza  they  could  hold  us  up  ;  the  Ger- 
mans believed  that  with  an  offensive  against  us  they 
would  hold  us  in  check  till  the  wet  season  arrived.^ 

Down  to  the  south  the  Turks  had  to  bring  their 
divisions.  Their  line  of  communications  was  very 
bad.  There  was  a  railway  from  Aleppo  through 
Rayak  to  Damascus,  and  onwards  through  Deraa 
(on  the  Hedjaz  line)  to  Afule,  Messudieh,  Tul  Keram, 
Ramleh,  Junction  Station  to  Beit  Hanun,  on  the 
Gaza  sector,  and  through  Et  Tineh  to  Beersheba. 
Rolling  stock  was  short  and  fuel  was  scarce,  and  the 
enemy  had  short  rations.  When  we  advanced 
through  Syria  in  the  autumn  of  1918  our  transport 
was  nobly  served  by  motor-lorry  columns  which 
performed  marvels  in  getting  up  supplies  over  the 
worst  of  roads.  But  as  we  went  ahead  we,  having 
command  of  the  sea,  landed  stores  all  the  way  up 
the  coast,  and  unless  the  Navy  had  lent  its  helping 
hand  we  should  never  have  got  to  Aleppo  before  the 
Turk  cried  '  Enough.'  Every  ounce  of  the  Turks' 
supphes  had  to  be  hauled  over  land.  They  managed 
to  put  ten  infantry  divisions  and  one  cavalry  division 
against  us  in  the  first  three  weeks,  but  they  were  not 
comparable  in  strength  to  our  seven  infantry  divisions 
and  three  cavalry  divisions.  In  rifle  strength  we 
outnumbered  them  by  two  to  one,  but  if  the  enemy 
bad  been  well  led  and  properly  rationed  he,  being 

*  See  Appendices  i„  ii.,  and  m. 


16  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

on  the  defensive  and  having  strong  prepared  posi- 
tions, should  have  had  the  power  to  resist  us  more 
strongly.  The  Turkish  divisions  we  attacked  were  : 
3rd,  7th,  16th,  19th,  20th,  24th,  26th,  27th,  53rd, 
and  54th,  and  the  3rd  Cavalry  Division.  The  latter 
avoided  battle,  but  all  the  infantry  divisions  had 
heavy  casualties.  That  the  moral  of  the  Turkish 
Army  was  not  high  may  be  gathered  from  a  very 
illuminatmg  letter  written  by  General  Kress  von 
Kressenstein,  the  G.O.C.  of  the  Sinai  front,  to  Yilderim 
headquarters  on  September  29,  1917.^ 

The  troops  who  won  Palestine  and  made  it  happier 
than  it  had  been  for  four  centuries  were  exclusively 
soldiers  of  the  British  Empire.  There  was  a  French 
detachment  and  an  Italian  detachment  with  General 
Allenby's  Army.  The  Italians  for  a  short  period  held 
a  small  portion  of  the  line  in  the  Gaza  sector,  but  did 
not  advance  with  our  force  ;  the  French  detachment 
were  solely  employed  as  garrison  troops.  The  French 
battleship  Requin  and  two  French  destroyers  co- 
operated with  the  ships  of  the  Royal  Navy  in  the 
bombardment  of  the  coast.  Our  Army  was  truly 
representative  of  the  Empire,  and  the  units  com- 
posing it  gave  an  abiding  example  that  in  unity  rested 
our  strength.  From  over  the  Seven  Seas  the 
Empire's  sons  came  to  illustrate  the  mianimity  of 
all  the  King's  subjects  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
war.  English,  Scottish,  Irish,  and  Welsh  divisions 
of  good  men  and  true  fought  side  by  side  with 
soldiers  of  varying  Indian  races  and  castes.  Aus- 
tralia's valiant  sons  constituted  many  brigades  of 
horse  and,  with  New  Zealand  mounted  regiments, 
became  the  most  hardened  campaigners  in  the 
Egyptian  and  Palestine  theatre  of  operations.  Their 
powerful  support  in  the  day  of  anxiety  and  trial,  as 

1  See  Appendix  iv. 


OLD  BATTLEGROUNDS  17 

well  as  in  the  time  of  triumph,  will  be  remembered 
with  gratitude.  South  Africa  contributed  good 
gunners;  our  dark-skinned  brethren  in  the  West 
Indies  furnished  infantry  who,  when  the  fierce 
summer  heat  made  the  air  in  the  Jordan  Valley  like 
a  draught  from  a  furnace,  had  a  bayonet  charge 
which  aroused  an  Anzac  brigade  to  enthusiasm  (and 
Colonial  free  men  can  estimate  bravery  at  its  true 
value).  From  far-away  Hong  Kong  and  Singapore 
came  mountain  gunners  equal  to  any  in  the  world, 
Kroomen  sent  from  their  homes  in  West  Africa  surf 
boatmen  to  land  stores,  Raratongas  from  the  Southern 
Pacific  vied  with  them  in  boat  craft  and  beat  them 
in  physique,  while  Egypt  contributed  a  labour  corps 
and  transport  corps  running  a  long  way  into  six 
figures.  The  communion  of  the  representatives  of 
the  Mother  and  Daughter  nations  on  the  stern  field 
of  war  brought  together  people  with  the  same  ideals, 
and  if  there  are  any  minor  jealousies  between  them 
the  brotherhood  of  arms  will  make  the  soldiers 
returning  to  their  homes  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe 
the  best  of  missionaries  to  spread  the  Imperial  idea. 
Instead  of  wrecking  the  British  Empire  the  German- 
made  war  should  rebuild  it  on  the  soundest  of  f  oimda- 
tions,  affection,  mutual  trust,  and  common  interest. 


CHAPTER  III 

DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ATTACK 

General  Allenby's  first  problem  was  of  vital 
consequence.  He  had  to  pierce  the  Gaza  line. 
Before  his  arrival  there  had  been,  as  already  stated, 
two  attempts  which  failed.  A  third  failure,  or  even 
a  check,  might  have  spelt  disaster  for  us  in  the  East. 
Tlie  Turks  held  commanding  positions,  which  they 
strengthened  and  fortified  under  the  direction  of 
German  engineers  until  their  country,  between  the 
sea  and  Beersheba,  became  a  chain  of  land  works  of 
high  military  value,  well  adapted  for  defence,  and 
covering  almost  every  hne  of  approach.  The  Turk 
at  the  Dardanelles  had  shoAvn  no  loss  of  that  quality 
of  doggedness  in  defence  which  characterised  him 
in  Plevna,  and  though  we  know  his  commanders 
still  cherished  the  hope  of  successfully  attacking  us 
before  we  could  attempt  to  crush  his  hne,  it  was  on 
his  system  of  defence  that  the  enemy  mainly  relied 
to  break  the  power  of  the  British  force.  On  arriving 
in  Egypt  General  Allenby  was  given  an  appreciation 
of  the  situation  written  by  Lieut.-General  Sir  Philip 
Chetwode,  who  had  commanded  the  Desert  Column 
in  various  stages  across  the  sands  of  Sinai,  was 
responsible  for  forcing  the  Turks  to  evacuate  El 
Arish,  arranged  the  dash  on  Magdaba  by  General 
Sir  Harry  ChauveFs  mounted  troops,  and  fought 
the  briUiant  little  battle  of  Rafa.  This  appreciation 
of  the  position  was  the  work  of  a  master  military 
mind,  taking  a  broad  comprehensive  view  of  the 

18 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ATTACK         19 

whole  military  situation  in  the  East,  Palestine's 
position  in  the  world  war,  the  strategical  and  tactical 
problems  to  be  faced,  and,  without  making  any 
exorbitant  demands  for  troops  which  would  lessen 
the  Allies'  powers  in  other  theatres,  set  out  the 
minimum  necessities  for  the  Palestine  force.  General 
AUenby  gave  the  fullest  consideration  to  this  docu- 
ment, and  after  he  had  made  as  complete  an  examina- 
tion of  the  front  as  any  Commander-in-Chief  ever 
undertook — the  General  was  in  one  or  other  sector 
with  his  troops  almost  every  day  for  four  months — 
General  Chetwode's  plan  was  adopted,  and  full  credit 
was  given  to  his  prescience  in  General  AUenby' s 
despatch  covering  the  operations  up  to  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem. 

It  was  General  Chetwode's  view  at  the  time  of 
writing  his  appreciation,  that  both  the  British  and 
Turkish  Armies  were  strategically  on  the  defensive. 
The  forces  were  nearly  equal  in  numbers,  though  we 
were  slightly  superior  in  artillery,  but  we  had  no 
advantage  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  attack  a  well- 
entrenched  enemy  who  only  offered  us  a  flank  on 
which  we  could  not  operate  owing  to  lack  of  water 
and  the  extreme  difficulty  of  supply.  General  Chet- 
wode  thought  it  was  possible  the  enemy  might  make 
an  offensive  against  us — we  have  since  learned  he 
had  such  designs — but  he  gave  weighty  reasons 
against  the  Turk  embarking  upon  a  campaign  con- 
ducted with  a  view  to  throwing  us  beyond  the 
Eg3rptian  frontier  into  the  desert  again.  If  the 
enemy  contemplated  even  minor  operations  in  the 
Sinai  Desert  he  had  not  the  means  of  undertaking 
them.  We  should  be  retiring  on  positions  we  had 
prepared,  for,  during  his  advance  across  the  desert, 
General  Chetwode  had  always  taken  the  precaution 
of  having  his  force  dug  in  against  the  unlikely  event 


20  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  a  Turkish  attack.  Every  step  we  went  back  would 
make  oui*  supply  easier,  and  there  was  no  water 
difficulty,  the  pipe  Hue,  then  130  miles  long,  which 
carried  the  purified  waters  of  the  Nile  to  the  amount 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  gallons  daily,  being 
always  available  for  our  troops.  It  would  be  necessary 
for  the  Tiu"ks  to  repair  the  Beersheba-Auja  railway. 
They  had  lifted  some  of  the  rails  for  use  north  of  Gaza, 
and  a  raid  we  had  carried  out  showed  that  we  could 
stop  this  railway  being  put  into  a  state  of  preparedness 
for  mihtary  traffic.  An  attack  which  aimed  at  again 
threateiung  the  Suez  Canal  was  therefore  ruled  as 
outside  the  range  of  possibilities. 

On  the  other  hand,  now  that  the  Russian  collapse 
had  relieved  the  Turk  of  his  anxieties  in  the  Caucasus 
and  permitted  him  to  concentrate  his  attention  on 
the  Mesopotamian  and  Palestine  fronts,  what  hope 
had  he  of  resisting  our  attack  when  we  should  be  in 
a  position  to  launch  it  ?     The  enemy  had  a  single 
narrow-gauge     railway    hne    connecting    with     the 
Jaffa- Jerusalem  railway  at  Junction  Station  about 
six  miles  south-east  of  Ramleh.     This  line  ran  to 
Beersheba,  and  there  was  a  spur  line  running  past 
Deir  Sineid  to   Beit  Hanun  from  which  the  Gaza 
position   was   supphed.     There   was   a   shortage   of 
rolling  stock  and,  there  being  no  coal  for  the  engines, 
whole  olive  orchards  had  been  hacked  down  to  provide 
fuel.     The  Hebron  road,  which  could  keep  Beersheba 
supplied  if  the  railway  was  cut,  was  in  good  order, 
but  in  other  parts  there  were  no  roads  at  all,  except 
several  miles  of  badly  metalled  track  from  Junction 
Station  to  Juhs.     We  could  not  keep  many  troops 
with  such  ill-conditioned  communications,  but  Turk- 
ish soldiers  require  far  less  supplies  than  European 
troops,  and  the  enemy  had  done  such  remarkable 
things  in  surmounting   supply   difficulties   that  he 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ATTACK         21 

was  given  credit  for  being  able  to  support  between 
sixty  and  seventy  battalions  in  the  line  and  reserve, 
with  an  artillery  somewhat  weaker  than  our  own. 

If  we  made  another  frontal  attack  at  Gaza  we 
should  find  ourselves  up  against  a  desperately  strong 
defensive  system,  but  even  supposing  we  got  through 
it  we  should  come  to  another  halt  in  a  few  miles, 
as  the  enemy  had  selected,  and  in  most  cases  had 
prepared,  a  number  of  positions  right  up  to  the  Jaffa- 
Jerusalem  road,  where  he  would  be  in  a  land  of  com- 
parative plenty,  with  his  supply  and  transport 
troubles  very  considerably  reduced.  No  one  could 
doubt  that  the  Turks  intended  to  defend  Jerusalem 
to  the  last,  not  only  because  of  the  moral  effect  its 
capture  would  have  on  the  peoples  of  the  world,  but 
because  its  possession  by  us  would  threaten  their 
enterprise  in  the  Hedjaz,  and  the  enormous  amount 
of  work  we  afterwards  found  they  had  done  on  the 
Judean  hills  proved  that  they  were  determined  to 
do  all  in  their  power  to  prevent  our  driving  them  from 
the  Holy  City.  The  enemy,  too,  imagined  that  our 
progress  could  not  exceed  the  rate  at  which  our 
standard  gauge  railway  could  be  built.  Water-borne 
supplies  were  limited  as  to  quantity,  and  during  the 
winter  the  landing  of  supplies  on  an  open  beach  was 
hazardous.  In  the  coastal  belt  there  were  no  roads, 
and  the  wide  fringe  of  sand  which  has  accumulated 
for  centuries  and  still  encroaches  on  the  Maritime 
Plain  can  only  be  crossed  by  camels.  Wells  are  few 
and  yield  but  small  volumes  of  water.  With  the 
transport  allotted  to  the  force  in  the  middle  of  1917  it 
was  not  possible  to  maintain  more  than  one  infantry 
division  at  a  distance  of  twenty  to  twenty- five  miles 
beyond  railhead,  and  this  could  only  be  done  by 
allotting  to  them  all  the  camels  and  wheels  of  other 
divisions  and  rendering  these  immobile.    This  was  in- 


22  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

sufficient  to  keep  the  enemy  on  the  move  after  a  tactical 
success,  and  he  would  have  ample  time  to  reorganise. 

General  Chetwode  held  that  careful  preliminary 
arrangements,  suitable  and  clastic  organisation  of 
transport,  the  collection  of  material  at  railhead,  the 
training  of  platelaying  gangs  provided  by  the  troops, 
the  utilisation  of  the  earthwork  of  the  enemy's  line 
for  our  own  railway,  luck  as  regards  the  weather  and 
the  fullest  use  of  sea  transport,  should  enable  us  to 
give  the  enemy  less  breathing  time  than  appeared 
possible  on  paper.  It  w^as  beyond  hope,  however, 
whatever  preparations  were  made,  that  we  should  be 
able  to  piursue  at  a  speed  approaching  that  which 
the  river  made  possible  in  Mesopotamia.  General 
Chetwode  considered  it  would  be  fatal  to  attempt  an 
offensive  with  forces  which  might  permit  us  to  attack 
and  occupy  the  enemy's  Gaza  line  but  which  would 
be  insufficient  to  inffict  upon  him  a  really  severe  blow, 
and  to  follow  up  that  blow  with  sufficient  troops. 
No  less  than  seven  infantry  divisions  at  full  strength 
and  three  cavalry  divisions  would  be  adequate  for 
the  purpose,  and  they  would  be  none  too  many. 
Further,  if  the  Turks  began  to  press  severely  in 
Mesopotamia,  or  even  to  revive  their  campaign  in 
the  Hedjaz,  a  premature  offensive  might  be  necessi- 
tated on  our  part  in  Palestine. 

The  suggestion  made  by  General  Chetwode  for 
General  Allenby's  consideration  was  that  the  enemy 
should  be  led  to  believe  we  intended  to  attack  him 
in  front  of  Gaza,  and  that  we  should  pin  him  dowTi  to 
his  defences  in  the  centre,  while  the  real  attack  should 
begin  on  Beersheba  and  continue  at  Hareira  and 
Sheria,  and  so  force  the  enemy  by  manoeuvre  to 
abandon  Gaza.  That  plan  General  Allenby  adopted 
after  seeing  all  the  ground,  and  the  events  of  the  last 
day  of   October  and  the   first  week  of  November 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ATTACK         23 

supported  General  Chetwode's  predictions  to  the 
letter.  Indeed  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  parallel 
in  history  for  such  another  complete  and  absolute 
justification  of  a  plan  drawn  up  several  months 
previously,  and  it  is  doubtful  if,  supposing  the  Turks 
had  succeeded  in  doing  what  their  German  advisers 
advocated,  namely  forestalling  our  blow  by  a  vigorous 
attack  on  our  positions,  there  would  have  been  any 
material  alteration  in  the  working  out  of  the  scheme. 
The  staff  work  of  General  Headquarters  and  of  the 
staffs  of  the  three  corps  proved  whoUy  sound.  Each 
department  gave  of  its  best,  and  from  the  moment 
when  Beersheba  was  taken  in  a  day  and  we  secured 
its  water  supply,  there  was  never  a  doubt  that  the 
enemy  could  be  kept  on  the  move  until  we  got  into 
the  rough  rocky  hills  about  Jerusalem.  And  by 
that  time,  as  events  proved,  his  moral  had  had  such 
a  tremendous  shaking  that  he  never  again  made  the 
most  of  his  many  opportunities. 

The  soundness  of  the  plan  can  quite  easily  be  made 
apparent  to  the  unmihtary  eye.  Yet  the  Turk  was 
absolutely  deceived  as  to  General  Allenby's  inten- 
tions. If  it  be  conceded  that  to  deceive  the  enemy 
is  one  of  the  greatest  accomplishments  in  the  soldier's 
art,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  battle  of  Gaza 
showed  General  Allenby's  consummate  generalship, 
just  as  it  was  proved  again,  and  perhaps  to  an  even 
greater  extent,  in  the  wonderful  days  of  September 
1918,  in  Northern  Palestine  and  Syria.  A  glance  at 
the  map  of  the  Gaza- Beersheba  line  and  the  country 
immediately  behind  it  will  show  that  if  a  successful 
attack  were  delivered  against  Gaza  the  enemy  could 
withdraw  his  whole  line  to  a  second  and  supporting 
position  where  we  should  have  to  begin  afresh  upon  an 
almost  similar  operation.  The  Turk  would  stiU  have 
his  water  and  would  be  slightly  nearer  his  supplies. 


24  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Since  the  two  unsuccessful  attacks  in  March  and 
April,  Gaza  had  been  put  into  a  powerful  state  of 
defence.  The  houses  of  the  to^\^l  are  mostly  on  a 
ridge,  and  enclosing  the  place  is  a  mass  of  gardens 
fully  a  mile  deep,  each  surrounded  by  high  cactus 
hedges  affording  complete  cover  and  quite  impossible 
for  infantry  to  penetrate.  To  reduce  Gaza  would 
require  a  prolonged  artillery  bombardment  with  far 
more  batteries  than  General  Allenby  could  ever  expect 
to  have  at  his  command,  and  it  is  certain  that  not 
only  would  the  line  in  front  of  the  town  have  had  to 
be  taken,  but  also  the  whole  of  the  western  end  of 
the  Turks'  trench  system  for  a  length  of  at  least 
12,000  yards.  And,  as  has  been  said,  with  Gaza 
secured  we  should  still  have  had  to  face  the  enemy 
in  a  new  line  of  positions  about  the  wadi  Hesi.  Gaza 
was  the  Turks'  strongest  point.  To  attack  here 
would  have  meant  a  long-drawn-out  artillery  duel, 
infantry  would  have  had  to  advance  over  open  ground 
under  complete  observation,  and,  while  making  a 
frontal  attack,  would  have  been  exposed  to  enfilade 
fire  from  the  '  Tank  '  system  of  works  to  the  south- 
east. It  would  have  proved  a  costly  operation,  its 
success  could  only  have  been  partial  in  that  it  did  not 
follow  that  we  should  break  the  enemy's  line,  and  it 
would  not  have  enabled  us  to  contain  the  remainder 
of  the  Turkish  force. 

Nor  would  an  attack  on  the  centre  have  promised 
more  favourably.  Here  the  enemy  had  all  the  best 
of  the  ground.  At  Atawineh,  Sausage  Ridge,  Hareira, 
and  Teiaha  there  were  defences  supporting  each 
other  on  high  ground  overlooking  an  almost  flat  plain 
through  which  the  wadi  Ghuzze  runs.  All  the  ob- 
servation was  in  enemy  possession,  and  to  attack 
over  this  ground  would  have  been  inviting  disaster. 
There  was  Uttle  fear  that  the  Turks  would  attack  us 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  ATTACK         25 

across  this  wide  range  of  No  Man's  Land,  for  we 
held  secure  control  of  the  curiously  shaped  heaps  of 
broken  earth  about  Shellal,  and  the  conical  hill  at  Fara 
gave  an  uninterrupted  view  for  several  miles  north- 
ward and  eastward.  The  position  was  very  different 
about  Beersheba.  If  we  secured  that  place  with  its 
water  supply,  and  in  this  dry  country  the  battle 
really  amounted  to  a  fight  for  water,  we  should  be 
attacking  from  high  ground  and  against  positions 
which  had  not  been  prepared  on  so  formidable  a  scale 
as  elsewhere,  with  the  prospect  of  compelling  the 
enemy  to  abandon  the  remainder  of  the  line  for  fear  of 
being  enveloped  by  mounted  troops  moving  behind 
his  weakened  left.  That,  in  brief  outline,  was  the 
gist  of  General  Chetwode's  report,  and  with  its  full 
acceptance  began  the  preparations  for  the  advance. 
These  preparations  took  several  months  to  complete, 
and  they  were  as  thorough  as  the  energy  of  a  capable 
staff  could  make  them. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TRAINING  THE  ARMY 

Those  of  us  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  witness 
the  nature  of  the  preparations  for  the  first  of  General 
Allenby's  great  and  triumphant  moves  in  Palestine 
can  speak  of  the  debt  Britain  and  her  Allies  owe  not 
merely  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  his  Head- 
quarters Staff,  but  to  the  three  Corps  Commanders, 
the  Divisional  Commanders,  the  Brigadiers,  and  the 
officers  responsible  for  transport,  artillery,  engineer, 
and  the  other  services.     The  Army  had  to  be  put 
on  an  altogether  different  footing  from  that  which 
had  twice  failed  to  drive  the  Turks  from  Gaza.     It 
serves  nothing  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the  moral  of 
the  troops  was  not  high  in  the  weeks  following  the 
second  failure.     They  had  to  be  tuned  up  and  trained 
for  a  big  task.     They  knew  the  Turk  was  turning 
his  natural  advantages  of  ground  about  Gaza  into  a 
veritable  fortress,  and  that  if  their  next  effort  was  to 
meet  with  more  success  than  their  last,  they  had  to 
learn  all  that  experience  on  the  Western  Front  had 
taught  as  to  systems  of  trench  warfare. 

And,  more  than  that,  they  had  to  prepare  to  apply 
the  art  of  open  warfare  to  the  full  extent  of  their 
powers. 

A  couple  of  months  before  General  Allenby  took 
over  command.  General  Chetwode  had  taken  in  hand 
the  question  of  training,  and  in  employing  the  know- 
ledge gained  during  the  strenuous  days  he  had  spent 
in  France  and  Flanders,  he  not  only  won  the  con- 


TRAINING  THE  ARMY  27 

fidence  of  the  troops  but  improved  their  tone,  and 
by  degrees  brought  them  up  to  something  approach- 
ing the  level  of  the  best  fighting  divisions  of  our  Army 
in  France. 

This  was  hard  work  during  hot  weather  when  our 
trench  systems  on  a  wide  front  had  to  be  prepared 
against  an  active  enemy,  and  men  could  ill  be  spared 
for  the  all-important  task  of  training  behind  the  front 
line.     It  was  not  long,  however,  before  troops  who 
had  got  into  that  state  of  lassitude  which  is  engendered 
by  a  behef  that  they  were  settling  down  to  trench 
warfare  for  the  duration  of  the  war — that,  in  fact, 
there  was  a  stalemate  on  this  front — ^became  inspired 
by  the  energy  of  General  Chetwode.     They  saw  him 
in  the  front  hne  almost  every  day,  facing  the  risks 
they  ran  themselves,  complimenting  them   on  any 
good  piece  of  work,  suggesting  improvements  in  their 
defences,  always  anxious  to  provide  anything  possible 
for  their  comfort,   and  generally  looking  after  the 
rank  and  file  with  a  detailed  attention  which  no  good 
battahon  commander  could  exceed. 

The  men  knew  that  the  long  visits  General  Chet- 
wode paid  them  formed  but  a  small  part  of  his  daily 
task.  It  has  been  said  that  a  G.O.C.  of  a  force  has 
to  think  one  hour  a  day  about  operations  and  five 
hours  about  beef.  In  East  Force,  as  this  part  of 
the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force  was  then  called. 
General  Chetwode,  having  to  look  months  ahead, 
had  also  six  worrying  hours  a  day  to  think  about 
water.  For  any  one  who  did  not  love  his  profession, 
or  who  had  not  an  ardent  soldierly  spirit  within  him, 
such  a  daily  task  would  have  been  impossible.  I 
had  the  privilege  of  living  in  General  Chetwode' s 
camp  for  some  time,  and  I  have  seen  him  working 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  at  nine  o'clock 
at  night,  and  the  notes  on  a  writing  tablet  by  the 


28  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

side  of  his  rough  camp-bed  showed  that  in  the  hours 
when  sleep  forsook  him  he  was  planning  the  next  day's 
work. 

His  staff  was  entirely  composed  of  hard  workers, 
and  perhaps  no  command  in  this  war  ever  had  so 
small  a  staff,  but  there  was  no  officer  in  East  Force 
who  laboured  so  long  or  with  such  concentration 
and  energy  and  determination  as  its  Chief.  This 
enthusiasm  was  infectious  and  spread  through  all 
ranks.  The  sick  rate  declined,  septic  sores,  from 
which  many  men  suffered  through  rough  life  in  the 
desert  on  Army  rations,  got  better,  and  the  men 
showed  more  interest  in  their  work  and  were  keener 
on  their  sport.  The  full  effects  had  not  been  wholly 
realised  when  the  War  Cabinet  selected  General 
Allenby  for  the  control  of  the  big  operations,  but 
the  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  troops  was 
already  most  marked,  and  when  General  Allenby 
arrived  and  at  once  directed  that  General  Head- 
quarters should  be  moved  from  Cairo,  which  was 
pleasant  but  very  far  away  from  the  front,  to  Kelab, 
near  Khan  Yunus,  there  was  not  a  man  who  did  not 
see  in  the  new  order  of  things  a  sign  that  he  was  to 
be  given  a  chance  of  testing  the  Briton's  supremacy 
over  the  Turk. 

The  improvement  in  the  moral  of  the  troops,  the 
foundations  of  which  were  thus  begun  and  cemented 
by  General  Chetwode,  was  rapidly  carried  on  under  the 
new  Chief.  Divisions  like  the  52nd,  53rd,  and  54th, 
which  had  worked  right  across  the  desert  from  the 
Suez  Canal,  toihng  in  a  torrid  temperature,  when 
parched  throats,  sun-blistered  limbs,  and  septic  sores 
were  a  heavy  trial,  weakened  by  casualties  in  action 
and  sickness,  were  brought  up  to  something  like 
strength.  Reinforcing  drafts  joined  a  lot  of  cheery 
veterans.     They  were  taught  in  the  stern  field  of 


TRAINING  THE  ARMY  29 

experience  what  was  expected  of  them,  and  they 
worked  themselves  up  to  the  degree  of  efficiency  of 
the  older  men. 

The  74th  Division,  made  up  of  yeomanry  regiments 
which  had  been  doing  excellent  service  in  the  Libyan 
Desert,  watching  for  and  harassing  the  elements  of 
the  Senussi  Army,  had  to  be  trained  as  infantry. 
These  yeomen  did  not  take  long  to  make  themselves 
first-rate  infantry,  and  when,  after  the  German 
attack  on  the  Somme  in  March  1918,  they  went 
away  from  us  to  strengthen  the  Western  Front,  a 
distinguished  General  told  me  he  believed  that  man 
for  man  the  74th  would  prove  the  finest  division  in 
France.  They  certainly  proved  themselves  in  Pales- 
tine, and  many  an  old  yeomanry  regiment  won  for 
itself  the  right  to  bear  '  Jerusalem,  1917 '  on  its 
standard. 

The  75th  Division  had  brought  some  of  the  Wessex 
Territorials  from  India  with  two  battalions  of  Gurkhas 
and  two  of  Rifles.  The  l/4th  Duke  of  Cornwall's 
Light  Infantry  joined  it  from  Aden,  but  for  some 
months  the  battalion  was  not  itself.  It  had  spent 
a  long  time  at  that  dreary  sunburnt  outpost  of  the 
Empire,  and  the  men  did  not  regain  their  physical 
fitness  till  close  upon  the  time  it  was  required  for  the 
Gaza  operations. 

The  60th  Division  came  over  from  Salonika  and 
we  were  delighted  to  have  them,  for  they  not  only 
gave  us  General  Bulfin  as  the  XXIst  Corps  Commander, 
but  set  an  example  of  efficiency  and  a  combination 
of  dash  and  doggedness  which  earned  for  them  a 
record  worthy  of  the  best  in  the  history  of  the  great 
war.  These  London  Territorials  were  second-line 
men,  men  recruited  from  volunteers  in  the  early  days 
of  the  war,  when  the  Coimty  of  London  Territorial 
battahons  went  across  to  France  to  take  a  part  on  a 


30  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

front  hard  pressed  by  German  legions.  The  60th 
Division  men  had  rushed  forward  to  do  their  duty 
before  the  Derby  scheme  or  conscription  sought 
out  the  cream  of  Britain's  manhood,  and  no  one  had 
any  misgivings  about  that  fine  cheery  crowd. 

Tlie  10th  Division  hkewise  came  from  Salonika. 
Unfortunately  it  had  been  doing  duty  in  a  fever- 
stricken  area  and  malaria  had  weakened  its  ranks. 
A  httle  while  before  the  autumn  operations  began, 
as  many  as  3000  of  its  men  were  down  at  one  time 
with  malaria,  but  care  and  tonic  of  the  battle  pulled 
the  ranks  together,  and  the  Irish  Division,  a  purely 
Irish  division,  campaigned  up  to  the  glorious  tradi- 
tions of  their  race.  They  worked  like  gluttons  with 
rifle  and  spade,  and  their  pioneer  work  on  roads  in 
the  Judean  hills  will  always  be  remembered  with 
gratitude. 

The  cavalry  of  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps  were 
old  campaigners  in  the  East.     The  Anzac  Mounted 
Division,  composed  of  six  regiments  of  Australian 
Light  Horse  and  three  regiments  of  New  Zealand 
Mounted   Rifles,   had   been   operating   in   the   Sinai 
Desert  when  they  were  not  winning  fame  on  Galhpoli, 
since  the  early  days  of  the  war.     They  had  proved 
sterling  soldiers  in  the  desert  war,  hard,  full  of  courage, 
capable  of  making  light  of  the  longest  trek  in  water- 
less stretches  of  country,  and  mobile  to  a  degree  the 
Turks    never    dreamed    of.     There    were    six    other 
regiments  of  Australian  Light  Horse  and  three  first- 
line  regiments  of  yeomanry  in  the  Australian  Mounted 
Division,    and    nine    yeomanry    regiments    in    the 
Yeomanry   Mounted  Division.      Tlie    7th    Mounted 
Brigade  was  attached  to  Desert  Corps,  as  was  also 
the  Imperial  Camel  Corps  Brigade,  formed  of  yeomen 
and  Austrahans  who  had  volunteered  from  their  regi- 
ments for  work  as  camelry.    They,  too,  were  veterans. 


TRAINING  THE  ARMY  31 

All  these  divisions  had  to  be  trained  hard.  Not 
only  had  the  four  infantry  divisions  of  XXth  Corps 
to  be  brought  to  a  pitch  of  physical  fitness  to  enable 
them  to  endure  a  considerable  period  of  open  fighting, 
but  they  had  to  be  trained  in  water  abstinence,  as, 
in  the  event  of  success,  they  would  unquestionably 
have  long  marches  in  a  country  yielding  a  quite  in- 
adequate supply  of  drinking  water,  and  this  problem 
in  itself  was  such  that  fully  6000  camels  were  required 
to  carry  drinking  water  to  infantry  alone.  Water- 
abstinence  training  lasted  three  weeks,  and  the 
maximum  of  half  a  gallon  a  man  for  all  purposes 
was  not  exceeded,  simply  because  the  men  had  been 
made  accustomed  to  deny  themselves  drink  except 
when  absolutely  necessary.  But  for  a  systematic 
training  they  would  have  suffered  a  great  deal.  The 
disposition  of  the  force  is  given  in  the  Appendix.^ 

^  See  Appendix  v. 


CHAPTER  V 

RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE 

To  ease  the  supply  problem  a  spur  line  was  laid 
from  Rafa  to  Sliellal,  on  the  wadi  Ghuzze.  In  that 
way  supplies,  stores,  and  ammunition  were  taken  up 
to  our  right  flank.  Shellal  was  a  position  of  great 
strategic  importance.  At  one  time  it  appeared  as 
if  we  should  have  to  fight  hard  to  gain  it.  The  Turks 
had  cut  an  elaborate  series  of  trenches  on  Wali 
Sheikh  Nuran,  a  hill  covering  Shellal,  but  they 
evacuated  this  position  before  we  made  the  first 
attack  on  Gaza,  and  left  an  invaluable  water  supply 
in  our  hands. 

At  Shellal  the  stony  bed  of  the  wadi  Ghuzze  rests 
between  high  mud  banks  which  have  been  cut  into 
fantastic  shapes  by  the  rushing  waters  descending 
from  the  southern  extremities  of  the  Judean  range 
of  hills  during  the  winter  rains.  In  the  summer 
months,  when  the  remainder  of  the  wadi  bed  is  dry, 
there  are  bubbling  springs  of  good  water  at  Shellal, 
and  these  have  probably  been  continuously  flowing 
for  many  centuries,  for  close  above  the  spot  where  the 
water  issues  Anzac  cavalry  discovered  a  beautiful 
remnant  of  the  mosaic  flooring  of  an  ancient  Christian 
church,  which,  raised  on  a  hundred-feet  mound,  was 
doubtless  the  centre  of  a  colony  of  Christians,  hun- 
dreds of  years  before  Crusaders  were  attracted  to  the 
Holy  Land.  Our  engineers  harnessed  that  precious 
flow.  A  dam  was  put  across  the  wadi  bed  and  at 
least  a  miUion  gallons  of  crystal  water  were  held  up 

32 


RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE      33 

by  it,  whilst  the  overflow  went  into  shallow  pools 
fringed  with  grass  (a  dehghtfully  refreshing  sight  in 
that  arid  country)  from  which  horses  were  watered. 
Pumping  sets  were  installed  at  the  reservoir  and 
pipes  were  laid  towards  Karm,  and  from  these  the 
Camel  Transport  Corps  were  to  fill  fanatis — eight  to 
twelve  gallon  tanks — for  carriage  of  water  to  troops 
on  the  move. 

The  railway  staff,  the  department  which  arranged 
the  making  up  and  running  of  trains,  as  well  as  the 
construction  staff,  had  heavy  responsibihties.  It  was 
recognised  early  in  1917  that  if  we  were  to  crush  the 
Tm-k  out  of  the  war,  provision  would  have  to  be 
made  for  a  larger  army  than  a  single  line  from  the 
Suez  Canal  could  feed.  It  was  decided  to  double 
the  track.  The  difficulties  of  the  Director  of  Railway 
Transport  were  enormous.  There  was  great  shortage 
of  railway  material  all  over  the  world.  Some  very 
valuable  cargoes  were  lost  through  enemy  action  at 
sea,  and  we  had  to  call  for  more  from  different  centres, 
and  England  deprived  herself  of  rolling  stock  she 
badly  needed,  to  enable  her  flag  of  freedom  to  be 
carried  (though  it  was  not  to  be  hoisted)  through  the 
Holy  Land.  And  incidentally  I  may  remark  that,  with 
the  sohtary  exception  of  a  dirty  Uttle  piece  of  Red 
Ensign  I  saw  flying  in  the  native  quarter  in  Jerusalem, 
the  only  British  flag  the  people  saw  in  Palestine  and 
Syria  was  a  miniature  Union  Jack  carried  on  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief's motor  car  and  by  his  standard- 
bearer  when  riding.  Thus  did  the  British  Army  play 
the  game,  for  some  of  the  AUied  susceptibiHties  might 
have  been  wounded  if  the  people  had  been  told 
(though  indeed  they  knew  it)  that  they  were  under 
the  protection  of  the  British  flag.  They  had  the 
most  convincing  evidence,  however,  that  they  were 
under  the  staunch  protection  of  the  British  Army. 


34  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Tlie  doubling  of  the  railway  track  went  on  apace. 
To  save  pressure  at  the  Alexandria  docks  and  on 
the  Egyptian  State  railway,  which,  giving  some  of  its 
rolling  stock  and,  I  think,  the  whole  of  its  reserve  of 
material  for  the  use  of  the  military  line  east  of  the 
Canal,  was  worked  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  also 
to  economise  money  by  saving  railway  freights, 
wharves  w^ere  built  on  the  Canal  at  Kantara,  and  as 
many  as  six  ocean-going  steamers  could  be  unloaded 
there  at  one  time.  By  and  by  a  railway  bridge  was 
thrown  over  the  Canal,  and  when  the  war  was  over 
through  trains  could  be  run  from  Cairo  to  Jerusalem 
and  Haifa.  Kantara  grew  into  a  w^onderful  town 
with  several  miles  of  Canal  frontage,  huge  railway 
sidmgs  and  workshops,  enormous  stores  of  rations 
for  man  and  horse,  medical  supplies,  ordnance  and 
ammunition  dumps,  etc.  Probably  the  enemy  knew 
all  about  this  vast  base.  Any  one  on  any  ship  passing 
through  the  Canal  could  see  the  place,  and  it  is  sur- 
prising, and  it  certainly  points  to  a  lack  of  enterprise 
on  the  part  of  the  Germans,  that  no  attempt  was 
made  to  bomb  Kantara  by  the  super- Zeppelin  which 
in  November  1917  left  its  Balkan  base  and  got  as 
far  south  as  the  region  of  Khartoum  on  its  way  to 
East  Africa,  before  being  recalled  by  wireless.  This 
same  Zeppelin  was  seen  about  forty  miles  from  Port 
Said  and  a  visit  by  it  was  anticipated.  Aeroplanes 
with  experienced  pilots  and  armed  with  the  latest 
anti- Zeppelin  devices  were  stationed  at  Port  Said  and 
Aboukir  ready  to  ascend  on  any  moonlight  night 
when  the  hum  of  aerial  motor  machinery  could  be 
heard.  The  super- Zeppehn  never  came  and  Kantara's 
progress  was  unchecked. 

The  doubled  railway  track  was  laid  as  far  as 
El  Arish  by  the  time  operations  commenced,  and  this 
was  a  great  aid  to  the  railway  staff.     Every  engine 


RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE     35 

and  truck  was  used  to  its  fullest  capacity,  and  an 
enormous  amount  of  time  was  saved  by  the  abolition 
of  passing  stations  for  some  ninety  miles  of  the  line's 
length.  Railhead  was  at  Deir  el  Belah,  about  eight 
miles  short  of  Gaza,  and  here  troops  and  an  army  of 
Egyptian  labourers  were  working  night  and  day, 
week  in  week  out,  off-loading  trucks  with  a  speed  that 
enabled  the  maximum  amount  of  service  to  be  got 
out  of  rolling  stock.  There  were  large  depots  down 
the  line  too.  At  Rafa  there  was  a  big  store  of  am- 
munition, and  at  Shellal  large  quantities  not  only  of 
supplies  but  of  railway  material  were  piled  up  in  readi- 
ness for  pushing  out  railhead  immediately  the  advance 
began.  A  Decauville,  or  light,  line  ran  out  towards 
Gamli  from  Shellal  to  make  the  supply  system  easier, 
and  I  remember  seeing  some  Indian  pioneers  lay  about 
three  miles  of  light  railway  with  astonishing  rapidity 
the  day  after  we  took  Beersheba.  Every  mile  the  hne 
advanced  meant  time  saved  in  getting  up  supplies, 
and  the  radius  of  action  of  lorries,  horse,  and  camel 
transport  was  considerably  increased. 

To  supply  the  Gaza  front  we  called  in  aid  a  small 
system  of  light  railways.  From  the  railhead  at  Deir 
el  Belah  to  the  mouth  of  the  wadi  Ghuzze,  and  from 
that  point  along  the  line  of  the  wadi  to  various  places 
behind  the  line  held  by  us,  we  had  a  total  length  of 
21  kilometres  of  light  railway.  Before  this  railway 
got  into  full  operation  horses  had  begun  to  lose  con- 
dition, and  during  the  summer  ammunition-column 
officers  became  very  anxious  about  their  horses.  The 
light  railway  was  almost  everywhere  within  range 
of  the  enemy's  guns,  and  in  some  places  it  was  un- 
avoidably exposed,  particularly  where  it  ran  on  the 
banks  of  the  wadi  due  south  of  Gaza.  I  recollect 
while  the  track  was  being  laid  speaking  to  an  Aus- 
tralian in  charge  of  a  gang  of  natives  preparing  an 

/ 


36  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

earthwork,  and  asked  why  it  was  that  a  trench  was 
dug  before  earth  was  piled  up.  He  pointed  to  the 
hill  of  Ali  Muntar,  the  most  prominent  feature  in 
the  enemy's  system,  and  said  that  from  the  Turks' 
observation  post  on  that  eminence  every  movement 
of  the  labourers  could  be  seen,  and  the  men  were 
often  forced  by  gunfire  to  the  refuge  of  the  trenches. 

When  the  railway  was  in  running  order  trains  had 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  shell-fire  on  this  section  on 
bright  moonlight  nights,  and  no  camouflage  could 
hide  them.  But  they  worked  through  in  a  marvel- 
lously orderly  and  efficient  fashion,  and  on  one  day 
when  our  guns  were  hungry  this  little  line  carried 
850  tons  of  ammunition  to  the  batteries.  The  horses 
became  fit  and  strong  and  were  ready  for  the  war  to 
be  carried  into  open  country.  In  christening  their 
tiny  puffing  locomotives  the  Tommy  drivers  showed 
their  strong  appreciation  of  their  comrades  on  the  sea, 
and  the  '  Iron  Duke '  and  '  Lion '  were  always  tuned 
up  to  haul  a  maximum  load.  But  the  pride  of  the 
engine  yard  was  the  '  Jerusalem  Cuckoo ' — some  pro- 
phetic eye  must  have  seen  its  future  employment 
on  the  light  line  between  Jerusalem  and  Ramallah 
— though  in  popularity  it  was  run  close  by  the 
'Bulfin-ch,'  a  play  upon  the  name  of  the  Com- 
mander of  the  XXIst  Corps,  for  which  it  did  sterUng 
service. 

The  Navy  formed  part  of  the  picture  as  well.  Some 
small  steamers  of  1000  to  1500  tons  burden  came  up 
from  Port  Said  to  a  little  cove  north  of  Belah  to 
lighten  the  railway's  task.  They  anchored  about 
150  yards  off  shore  and  a  crowd  of  boats  passed 
backwards  and  forwards  with  stores.  These  were 
carried  up  the  beach  to  trucks  on  a  line  connected 
with  the  supply  depots,  and  if  you  wished  to  see  a 
busy  scene  where  slackers  had  no  place  the  Belah 


RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE     37 

beach  gave  it  you.  The  Army  tried  all  sorts  of  boat- 
men and  labourers.  There  were  Kroo  boys  who  found 
the  Mediterranean  waters  a  comparative  calm  after 
the  turbulent  surf  on  their  own  West  African  shore. 
The  Maltese  were  not  a  success.  The  Egyptians 
were,  both  here  and  almost  everywhere  else  where 
their  services  were  called  for.  The  best  of  all  the 
fellows  on  this  beach,  however,  were  the  Raratongas 
from  the  Cook  Islands,  the  islands  from  which  the 
Maoris  originally  came.  They  were  first  employed 
at  El  Arish,  where  they  made  it  a  point  of  honour  to 
get  a  job  done  well  and  quickly,  and,  on  a  given  day, 
it  was  found  that  thirty  of  them  had  done  as  much 
labourers'  work  as  170  British  soldiers.  They  were 
men  of  fine  physical  strength  and  endurance,  and 
some  one  who  knew  they  had  the  instincts  of  sports- 
men, devised  a  simple  plan  to  get  the  best  out  of  them. 
He  presented  a  small  flag  to  be  won  each  day  by  the 
crew  accomplishing  the  best  work  with  the  boats. 
The  result  was  amazing.  Every  minute  the  boats 
were  afloat  the  Raratongas  strained  their  muscles  to 
win  the  day's  competition,  and  when  the  day's  task 
was  ended  the  victorious  crew  marched  with  their  flag 
to  their  camp,  singing  a  weird  song  and  as  proud  as 
champions.  Some  Raratongas  worked  at  ammuni- 
tion dumps,  and  it  was  the  boast  of  most  of  them  that 
they  could  carry  four  60-pounder  shells  at  a  time.  A 
few  of  these  stalwart  men  from  Southern  Seas  re- 
ceived a  promotion  which  made  them  the  most  envied 
men  of  their  race — they  became  loading  numbers  in 
heavy  howitzer  batteries,  fighting  side  by  side  with 
the  Motherland  gunners. 

However  well  the  Navy  and  all  associated  with  it 
worked,  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  Army's 
suppUes  was  water  borne.  The  great  bulk  had  to  be 
carried  by  rail.     Enormously  long  trains,  most  of 


38  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

them  hauled  by  London  and  South- Western  loco- 
motives, bore  munitions,  food  for  men  and  animals, 
water,  equipment,  medical  comforts,  guns,  wagons, 
caterpillar  tractors,  motor  cars,  and  other  parapher- 
naha  required  for  the  largest  army  which  had  ever 
operated  about  the  town  of  Gaza  in  the  thousands 
of  years  of  its  history.  The  main  line  had  thrown  out 
from  it  great  tentacles  embracing  in  their  iron  clasp 
vital  centres  for  the  supply  of  our  front,  and  over 
these  spur  lines  the  trains  ran  with  the  regularity  of 
British  main-line  expresses.  Besides  96,000  actual 
fighting  men,  there  was  a  vast  army  of  men  behind 
the  line,  and  there  were  over  100,000  animals  to  be 
fed.  There  were  46,000  horses,  40,000  camels,  15,000 
mules,  and  3500  donkeys  on  Army  work  east  of  the 
Canal,  and  not  a  man  or  beast  went  short  of  rations. 
We  used  to  think  Kitchener's  advance  on  Khartoum 
the  perfection  of  military  organisation.  Beside  the 
Palestine  expedition  that  Soudan  campaign  fades 
into  insignificance.  In  fighting  men  and  labour 
corps,  in  animals  and  the  machinery  of  war,  this  Army 
was  vastly  larger  and  more  important,  and  the  method 
by  which  it  was  brought  to  Palestine  and  was  supplied, 
and  the  low  sick  rate,  constitute  a  tribute  to  the  master 
minds  of  the  organisers.  The  Army  had  fresh  meat, 
bread,  and  vegetables  in  a  country  which  under  the 
lash  of  war  yielded  nothing,  but  which  under  our  rule 
in  peace  will  furnish  three  times  the  produce  of  the 
best  of  past  years  of  plenty. 

A  not  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  front  line  was 
supphed  with  Nile  water  taken  from  a  canal  nearly 
two  hundred  miles  away.  But  the  Army  once  at  the 
front  depended  less  upon  the  waters  of  that  Father 
of  R-ivers  than  it  had  to  do  in  the  long  trek  across  the 
desert.  Then  all  drinking  water  came  from  the  Nile. 
It  flowed  down  the  sweet-water  canal  (if  one  may  be 


RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE     39 

pardoned  for  calling  '  sweet '  a  volume  of  water  so 
charged  with  vegetable  matter  and  bacteria  that  it 
was  harmful  for  white  men  even  to  wash  in  it),  was 
filtered  and  siphoned  under  the  Suez  Canal  at  Kan- 
tara,  where  it  was  chlorinated,  and  passed  through  a 
big  pipe  line  and  pumped  through  in  stages  into 
Palestine.  The  engineers  set  about  improving  all 
local  resources  over  a  wide  stretch  of  country  which 
used  to  be  regarded  as  waterless  in  summer.  Many- 
water  levels  were  tapped,  and  there  was  a  fair  yield. 
The  engineers'  greatest  task  in  moving  with  the  Army 
during  the  advance  was  always  the  provision  of  a 
water  supply,  and  in  developing  it  they  conferred  on 
the  natives  a  boon  which  should  make  them  be  re- 
membered with  gratitude  for  many  generations. 

In  the  months  preceding  our  attack  Royal  En- 
gineers were  also  concerned  in  improving  the  means 
of  communication  between  railway  depots  and  the 
front  line.  Before  our  arrival  in  this  part  of  Southern 
Palestine,  wheeled  traffic  was  almost  unknown  among 
the  natives.  There  was  not  one  metalled  roadway, 
and  only  comparatively  light  loads  could  be  trans- 
ported in  wheeled  vehicles.  The  soil  between  Khan 
Yunus  and  Deir  el  Belah,  especially  on  the  west  of 
our  railway  line,  was  very  sandy,  and  after  the  winter 
rains  had  knitted  it  together  it  began  to  crumble 
imder  the  sun's  heat,  and  it  soon  cut  up  badly  when 
two  or  three  limbers  had  passed  over  it.  The  sandy 
earth  was  also  a  great  nuisance  in  the  region  between 
Khan  Yunus  and  Shellal,  but  between  Deir  el  Belah 
and  our  Gaza  front,  excepting  on  the  belt  near  the  sea 
which  was  composed  of  hillocks  of  sand  precisely 
similar  to  the  Sinai  Desert,  the  earth  was  firmer 
and  yielded  less  to  the  grinding  action  of  wheels. 
For  ordinary  heavy  military  traffic  the  engineers 
made  good  going  by  taking  off  about  one  foot  of  the 


40  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

top  soil  and  banking  it  on  either  side  of  the  road. 
These  tracks  lasted  very  well,  but  they  required 
constant  attention.  Ambuhmces  and  light  motor 
cars  had  special  arrangements  made  for  them.  Hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  wire  netting  were  laid  on  sand  in  all 
directions,  and  these  wire  roads,  which,  stretching 
across  bright  golden  sand,  appeared  like  black  bands 
to  observers  in  aircraft,  at  first  aroused  much  curi- 
osity among  enemy  airmen,  and  it  was  not  until  they 
had  made  out  an  ambulance  convoy  on  the  move  that 
they  reahsed  the  purpose  of  the  tracks. 

The  rabbit  wire  roads  were  a  remarkable  success. 
Motor  wheels  held  firmly  to  the  surface,  and  when 
the  roads  w^ere  in  good  condition  cars  could  travel 
at  high  speed.  Three  or  four  widths  of  wire  netting 
were  laced  together,  laid  on  the  sand  and  pegged 
down.  After  a  time  loose  pockets  of  sand  could  not 
resist  the  weight  of  wheels  and  there  became  many 
holes  beneath  the  wire,  and  the  jolting  was  a  sore  trial 
ahke  to  springs  and  to  a  passenger's  temper.  But  here 
again  constant  attention  kept  the  roads  in  order,  and 
if  one  could  not  describe  travelling  over  them  as  easy 
and  comfortable  they  were  at  least  sure,  and  one 
could  be  certain  of  getting  to  a  destination  at  an 
average  speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour.  In  sand 
the  Ford  cars  have  performed  wonderful  feats,  but 
remarkable  as  was  the  record  of  that  cheap  American 
car  with  us — it  helped  us  very  considerably  to  win 
the  war — you  could  never  tell  within  hours  how  long 
a  journey  would  take  off  the  wire  roads.  Once  leave 
the  netting  and  you  might  with  good  luck  and  a 
skilful  driver  get  across  the  sand  without  much 
trouble,  but  it  often  meant  much  bottom-gear  w^ork 
and  a  hot  engine,  and  not  infrequently  the  digging 
out  of  wheels.  The  drivers  used  to  try  to  keep  to 
the  tracks  made  by  other  cars.     These  were  never 


RAILWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  THE  BASE     41 

straight,  and  the  swing  from  side  to  side  reminded 
you  of  your  first  ride  on  a  camel's  back.  The  wire 
roads  were  a  great  help  to  us,  and  the  officer  who 
first  thought  out  the  idea  received  our  daily  blessings. 
I  do  not  know  who  he  was,  but  I  was  told  the  wire 
road  scheme  was  the  outcome  of  a  device  suggested 
by  a  medical  officer  at  Romani  in  1916,  when  infantry 
could  not  march  much  more  than  six  miles  a  day 
through  the  sand.  This  officer  made  a  sort  of  wire 
moccasin  which  he  attached  to  the  boot  and  doubled 
the  marching  powers  of  the  soldier.  A  sample  of 
those  moccasins  should  fuid  a  place  in  our  War 
Museum. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PREPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  ' 

About  the  middle  of  August  it  was  the  intention  that 
the  attack  on  the  Turks'  front  hne  in  Southern 
Palestine  should  be  launched  some  time  in  September. 
General  Allenby  knew  his  force  would  not  be  then 
at  full  strength,  but  what  was  happening  at  other 
points  in  the  Turkish  theatres  of  operations  might 
make  it  necessary  to  strike  an  early  blow  at  Gaza  to 
spoil  enemy  plans  elsewhere.  However,  it  was  soon 
seen  that  a  September  advance  was  not  absolutely 
necessary.  General  Allenby  decided  that  instead  of 
making  an  early  attack  it  would  be  far  more  profitable 
to  wait  until  his  Army  had  been  improved  by  a  longer 
period  of  training,  and  until  he  had  got  his  artillery, 
particularly  some  of  his  heavy  batteries,  into  a  high 
state  of  efficiency.  He  would  risk  having  to  take 
Jerusalem  after  bad  weather  had  set  in  rather  than 
be  unable,  owing  to  the  condition  of  his  troops,  to 
exploit  an  initial  success  to  the  fullest  extent.  How 
wholly  justified  was  this  decision  the  subsequent 
fighting  proved,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  there  was  ever 
a  more  complete  illustration  of  the  wisdom  of  those 
directing  war  policy  at  home  submitting  to  the  cool, 
balanced  calculations  of  the  man  on  the  spot.  The 
extra  six  weeks  spent  in  training  and  preparation 
were  of  incalculable  service  to  the  Alhes.  I  have 
heard  it  said  that  a  September  victory  in  Palestine 
would  have  had  its  reflex  on  the  Itahan  front,  and 
that  the  Caporetto  disaster  would  not  have  assumed 

42 


PREPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  '         43 

the  gigantic  proportions  which  necessitated  the  with- 
drawal to  Italy  of  British  and  French  divisions  from 
the  Western  Front  and  prevented  Cambrai  being  a 
big  victory.  That  is  very  doubtful.  On  the  contrary, 
a  September  battle  in  Palestine  before  we  were  fully 
ready  to  follow  the  Turks  after  breaking  and  rolling 
up  their  line,  even  if  we  had  succeeded  in  doing  this 
completely,  might  have  deprived  us  of  the  moral 
effect  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  and  of  the  wonderful 
influence  which  that  victory  had  on  the  whole  civilised 
world  by  reason  of  the  sacrifices  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  made  to  prevent  any  fighting  at  all  in  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Holy  City.  Of  this  I  shaU  speak  later, 
giving  the  fullest  details  at  my  command,  for  there 
is  no  page  in  the  story  of  British  arms  which  better 
upholds  the  honour  and  chivalry  of  the  soldier  than  the 
preservation  of  the  Holy  Place  from  the  clash  of  battle. 
That  last  six  weeks  of  preparation  were  unforget- 
table. The  London  newspapers  I  had  the  honour  to 
represent  as  War  Correspondent  knew  operations 
were  about  to  begin,  but  I  did  not  cable  or  mail  them 
one  word  which  would  give  an  indication  that  big 
things  were  afoot.  They  never  asked  for  news,  but 
were  content  to  wait  till  they  could  tell  the  public 
that  victory  was  ours.  In  accordance  with  their 
practice  throughout  the  w^ar  the  London  Press  set 
an  example  to  the  world  by  refraining  from  pub- 
lishing anything  which  would  give  information  of 
the  slightest  value  to  the  enemy.  It  was  a  privilege 
to  see  that  victory  in  the  making.  Some  divisions 
which  had  allotted  to  them  the  hardest  part  of  the 
attack  on  Beersheba  were  drawn  out  of  the  line,  and 
forming  up  in  big  camps  between  Belah  and  SheUal 
set  about  a  course  of  training  such  as  athletes  undergo. 
They  had  long  marches  in  the  sand  carrying  packs 
and  equipment.     They  were  put  on  a  short  allowance 


44  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  water,  except  for  washing  purposes.  They  dug, 
they  had  bombing  practice,  and  with  all  this  extra 
exercise  while  the  days  were  still  very  hot  they 
needed  no  encouragement  to  continue  their  games. 
Football  was  their  favourite  sport,  and  the  British 
Tommy  is  such  a  remarkable  fellow  that  it  was  usual 
to  see  him  trudge  home  to  camp  looking  '  fed  up  ' 
with  exercise,  and  then,  after  throwing  off  his  pack 
and  tunic,  run  out  to  kick  a  ball.  The  Italian  and 
French  detachments  used  to  look  at  him  in  astonish- 
ment, and  doubtless  they  thought  his  enthusiasm  for 
sport  was  a  sore  trial.  He  got  thoroughly  fit  for 
marches  over  sand,  over  stony  ground,  over  shifting 
shingle.  During  the  period  of  concentration  he  had 
to  cross  a  district  desperately  bad  for  marching,  and  it 
is  more  than  probable  the  enemy  never  beheved  him 
capable  of  such  endurance.  He  was  often  tired, 
no  doubt,  but  he  always  got  to  his  destination,  was 
rarely  footsore,  and  laughed  at  the  worst  parts  of 
his  journey.  The  sand  was  choking,  the  flies  were  an 
irritating  pest,  equipment  became  painfully  heavy ; 
but  a  big,  brave  heart  carried  Tommy  through 
his  training  to  a  state  of  perfect  condition  for  the 
heavy  test. 

To  enable  about  two-thirds  of  the  force  to  carry 
on  a  moving  battle  while  the  remainder  kept  half 
the  enemy  pinned  down  to  his  trench  system  on  his 
right-centre  and  right,  it  was  necessary  to  reinforce 
strongly  the  transport  service  for  our  mobile  columns. 
The  XXIst  Corps  gave  up  most  of  its  lorries,  tractors, 
and  camels  to  XXth  Corps.  These  had  to  be  moved 
across  from  the  Gaza  sector  to  our  right  as  secretly 
as  possible,  and  they  were  not  brought  up  to  load 
at  the  supply  depots  at  Shellal  and  about  Karm 
until  the  moment  they  were  required  to  carry 
supplies  for  the  corps  moving  to  attack. 


PREPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  '  45 

It  is  not  easy  to  convey  to  any  one  who  has  not 
seen  an  army  on  the  move  what  a  vast  amount 
of  transport  is  required  to  provision  two  corps. 
In  France,  where  roads  are  numerous  and  in  com- 
paratively good  condition,  the  supply  problem  could 
be  worked  out  to  a  nicety,  but  in  a  roadless  country 
where  there  was  not  a  sound  half-mile  of  track,  and 
where  water  had  to  be  developed  and  every  gallon 
was  precious,  the  question  of  supply  needed  most 
anxious  consideration,  and  a  big  margin  had  to  be 
allowed  for  contingencies.  It  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  requirements  when  I  state  that  for  the  supply  of 
water  alone  the  XXth  Corps  had  allotted  to  it  6000 
camels  and  73  lorries.  To  feed  these  water  camels 
alone  needed  a  big  convoy. 

We  got  an  impression  of  the  might  and  majesty  of 
an  army  in  the  field  as  we  saw  it  preparing  to  take 
the  offensive.  The  camp  of  General  Headquarters 
where  I  was  located  was  situated  north  of  Rafa. 
The  railway  ran  on  two  sides  of  the  camping  ground, 
one  line  going  to  Belah  and  the  other  stretching  out 
to  Shellal,  where  everything  was  in  readiness  to  extend 
the  iron  road  to  the  north-east  of  Karm,  on  the  plain 
which,  because  the  Turks  enjoyed  complete  observa- 
tion over  it,  had  hitherto  been  No  Man's  Land.  We 
saw  and  heard  the  traffic  on  this  section  of  the  line. 
It  was  enormous.  Heavily  laden  trains  ran  night  and 
day  with  a  mass  of  stores  and  suppHes,  with  motor 
lorries,  cars,  and  tractors  ;  and  the  ever-increasing 
volume  of  traffic  told  those  of  us  who  knew  nothing 
of  the  date  of  '  Zero  day  '  that  it  was  not  far  ofi. 
The  heaviest  trains  seemed  to  run  at  night,  and  the 
returning  empty  trains  were  hurried  forward  at  a 
speed  suggesting  the  urgency  of  clearing  the  hne  for 
a  fully  loaded  train  awaiting  at  Rafa  the  signal  to 
proceed  with  its  valuable  load  to  railhead.     Perfect 


46  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

control  not  only  on  the  railway  system  but  in  the 
forward  supply  yards  prevented  congestion,  and 
when  a  train  arrived  at  its  destination  and  was  split 
up  into  several  parts,  w  ell-drilled  gangs  of  troops  and 
Egyptian  labourers  were  allotted  to  each  truck,  and 
whether  a  lorry  or  a  tractor  had  to  be  unshipped  and 
moved  down  a  ramp,  or  a  truck  had  to  be  reheved  of 
its  ten  tons  of  tibbin,  boxes  of  biscuit  and  bully,  or 
of  engineers'  stores,  the  goods  were  cleared  away 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  Une  with  a  celerity  which  a 
goods-yard  foreman  at  home  would  have  applauded 
as  the  smartest  work  he  had  ever  seen.  There  was 
no  room  for  slackers  in  the  Army,  and  the  value  of 
each  truck  was  so  high  that  it  could  not  be  left 
standmg  idle  for  an  hour.  The  organisation  was 
equally  good  at  Kantara,  where  the  loading  and 
making  up  of  trains  had  to  be  arranged  precisely  as 
the  needs  at  the  front  demanded.  Those  remarkable 
haulers,  the  caterpillar  tractors,  cut  many  a  passage 
through  the  sand,  tugging  heavy  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion, stores  for  the  air  and  signal  services,  machinery 
for  engineers  and  mobile  workshops,  and  sometimes 
towing  a  weighty  load  of  petrol  to  satisfy  their 
voracious  appetites  for  that  fuel.  The  tractors  did 
well.  Sand  was  no  trouble  to  them,  and  when  mud 
marooned  lorries  during  the  advance  in  November 
the  rattling,  rumbling  old  tractor  made  fair  weather 
of  it.  The  mechanical  transport  trains  will  not  forget 
the  service  of  the  tractors  on  the  morning  after  Beer- 
sheba  was  taken.  From  railhead  to  the  spot  where 
Father  Abraham  and  his  people  fed  their  flocks  the 
country  was  bare  and  the  earth's  crust  had  yielded 
all  its  strength  under  the  influence  of  the  summer  sun. 
Loaded  lorries  under  their  own  power  could  not  move 
more  than  a  few  yards  before  they  were  several  inches 
deep  in  the  sandy  soil,  but  a  Motor  Transport  "officer 


THE  GREAT  MOSQUE  AT  GAZA 


PREPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  '  47 

devised  a  plan  for  beating  down  a  track  which  all 
lorries  could  use.  He  got  a  tractor  to  haul  six  un- 
laden lorries,  and  with  all  the  vehicles  using  their 
own  power  the  tractor  managed  to  pull  them  through 
to  Beersheba,  leaving  behind  some  wheel  tracks  with 
a  hard  foundation.  A  hundred  lorries  followed,  the 
drivers  steering  them  in  the  ruts,  and  they  made  such 
good  progress  that  by  the  afternoon  they  had  de- 
posited between  200  and  300  tons  of  supplies  in  Beer- 
sheba. The  path  the  tractor  cut  did  not  last  very 
long,  but  it  was  sound  enough  for  the  immediate  and 
pressing  requirements  of  the  Army. 

Within  a  month  of  his  arrival  in  Egjrpt,  General 
Allenby  had  visited  the  whole  of  his  front  line  and 
had  decided  the  form  his  offensive  should  take.  As 
soon  as  his  force  had  been  made  up  to  seven  infantry 
divisions  and  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps,  and  they 
had  been  brought  up  to  strength  and  trained,  he  would 
attack,  making  his  main  offensive  against  the  enemy's 
left  flank  while  conducting  operations  vigorously  and 
on  an  extensive  scale  against  the  Turkish  right-centre 
and  right.  The  principal  operation  against  the  left 
was  to  be  conducted  by  General  Chetwode's  XXth 
Corps,  consisting  of  four  infantry  divisions  and  the 
Imperial  Camel  Brigade,  and  by  General  Chauvel's 
Desert  Mounted  Corps.  General  Bulfin's  XXIst 
Corps  was  to  operate  against  Gaza  and  the  Turkish 
right-centre  south-east  of  that  ancient  town.  If  the 
situation  became  such  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  take 
the  offensive  before  the  force  had  been  brought  up 
to  strength,  the  XXIst  Corps  would  have  had  to 
undertake  its  task  with  only  two  divisions,  but  in 
those  circumstances  its  operations  were  to  be  limited 
to  demonstrations  and  raids.  By  throwing  forward 
his  right,  the  XXIst  Corps  Commander  was  to  pin 
the  enemy  down  in  the  Atawineh  district,  and  on  the 


48  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

left  he  would  move  against  the  south-western  defences 
of  Gaza  so  as  to  lead  the  Tui'ks  to  suppose  an  attack 
was  to  come  in  this  sector.  That  movement  being 
made,  the  XXth  Corps  and  Desert  Mounted  Corps 
were  to  advance  against  Beersheba,  and,  having  taken 
it,  to  secure  the  valuable  water  supply  which  was 
known  to  have  existed  there  since  Abraham  dug  the 
well  of  the  oath  which  gave  its  name  to  the  town. 
Because  of  water  difficulties  it  was  considered  vital 
that  Beersheba  should  be  captured  in  one  day,  a 
formidable  undertaking  owing  to  the  situation  of 
the  town,  the  high  entrenched  hills  around  it  and 
the  long  marches  for  cavalry  and  infantry  before  the 
attack  ;  and  in  drawing  up  the  scheme  based  on  the 
Commander-in-Chief's  plan,  the  commanders  of  XXth 
Corps  and  Desert  Mounted  Corps  had  always  to  work 
on  the  assumption  that  Beersheba  would  be  in  their 
hands  by  nightfall  of  the  first  day  of  the  attack. 
General  Barrow's  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  was 
to  remain  at  Shellal  in  the  gap  between  XXth  Corps 
and  XXIst  Corps  in  case  the  enemy  should  attempt 
to  attack  the  XXth  Corps'  left  flank.  Having  dealt 
with  the  enemy  in  Beersheba,  General  Chetwode  with 
mounted  troops  protecting  his  right  was  to  move 
north  and  north-west  against  the  enemy's  left  flank, 
to  drive  him  from  his  strong  positions  at  Sheria  and 
Hareira,  enveloping  his  left  flank  and  striking  it 
obliquely. 

While  the  XXth  Corps  was  moving  against  this  sec- 
tion of  the  enemy  line.  Desert  Mounted  Corps  was  to 
bring  up  the  mounted  division  left  at  Shellal,  and 
passing  behind  the  XXth  Corps  to  march  on  Nejile, 
where  there  was  an  excellent  water  supply,  and  the 
wadi  Hesi,  so  as  to  threaten  the  left  rear  and  the  line 
of  retreat  of  the  Turkish  Army. 

It  was  always  doubtful  whether  XXth  Corps  would 


PKEPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  '  49 

be  able  to  close  up  the  gap  between  it  and  the  XXIst 
Corps  owmg  to  the  length  of  its  marches  and  the 
distance  it  was  from  railhead,  and  the  scheme 
tlierefore  provided  that  the  XXIst  Corps  should 
confirm  successes  gained  on  our  right  by  forcing  its 
way  through  the  tremendously  strong  Gaza  position 
to  the  line  of  the  wadi  Hesi  and  joining  up  with 
Desert  Mounted  Corps.  A  considerable  number  of 
XXth  Corps  troops  would  then  return  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  railliead  and  release  the  greater  part  of 
its  transport  for  the  infantry  of  XXIst  Corps  moving 
up  the  Maritime  Plain. 

This,  in  summary  form,  was  the  scheme  General 
Allenby  planned  before  the  middle  of  August,  and 
though  the  details  were  not,  and  could  not  be,  worked 
out  until  a  couple  of  months  had  passed,  it  is  note- 
worthy as  showing  that,  notwithstanding  the  moves 
an  enterprising  enemy  had  at  his  command  in  a 
country  where  positions  were  entirely  favourable 
to  him,  where  he  had  water  near  at  hand,  where  the 
transport  of  supplies  was  never  so  serious  a  problem 
for  him  as  for  us  when  we  got  on  the  move,  and  where 
he  could  make  us  fight  almost  every  step  of  the  way, 
the  Commander-in-Chief  foresaw  and  provided  for 
every  eventuaHty,  and  his  scheme  worked  out  abso- 
lutely and  entirely  '  according  to  plan,'  to  use  the 
favourite  phrase  of  the  German  High  Command. 

When  the  Corps  Commanders  began  working  out 
the  details  two  of  the  greatest  problems  were  trans- 
port and  water.  Only  patience  and  skiHul  develop- 
ment of  known  sources  of  supply  would  surmount 
the  water  difficulty,  and  we  had  to  wait  till  the  period 
of  concentration  before  commencing  its  solution. 
But  to  lighten  the  transport  load  which  must  have 
weighed  heavily  on  Corps  Staffs,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  agreed  to  allow  the  extension  of  the  railway 


50  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

east  of  Shellal  to  be  begun  sooner  than  he  had  pro- 
vided for.  It  was  imperative  that  railway  con- 
struction should  not  give  the  enemy  an  indication 
of  our  intentions.  If  he  had  realised  the  nature  and 
scope  of  our  preparations  he  would  have  done  some- 
thing to  counteract  them  and  to  deny  us  that  element 
of  surprise  which  exerted  so  great  an  influence  on  the 
course  of  the  battle.  General  Allenby,  however,  was 
wilhng  to  take  some  risks  to  simphfy  supply  diffi- 
culties, and  he  ordered  that  the  extension  to  a  railway 
station  north-east  of  Karm  should  be  completed  by 
the  evening  of  the  third  day  before  the  attack,  that 
a  Decauville  line  from  GamU,  not  to  be  begun  before 
the  sixth  day  prior  to  the  attack,  was  to  be  completed 
to  Karm  by  the  day  preceding  the  opening  of  the 
fighting  at  Beersheba,  and  that  a  new  Decauville 
line  should  be  started  at  Karm  when  fighting  had 
begun,  and  should  be  carried  nearly  three  miles  in 
the  Beersheba  direction  early  on  the  following 
morning.  These  new  lines,  though  of  short  length, 
were  an  inestimable  boon  to  the  conductors  of  supply 
trains.  The  new  railheads  both  of  the  standard  gauge 
and  light  lines  were  well  placed,  and  they  not  only 
saved  time  and  shortened  the  journeys  of  camel 
convoys  and  lorry  transport  columns,  but  prevented 
congestion  at  depots  in  one  central  spot. 

A  big  effort  was  made  to  escape  detection  by  enemy 
aircraft.  For  the  first  time  since  the  Eg3rptian  Ex- 
peditionary Force  took  the  field  we  had  obtained 
mastery  in  the  air.  On  the  8th  and  15th  October 
two  enemy  planes  were  shot  down  behind  our  lines, 
and  the  keenness  of  our  airmen  for  combat  made  the 
German  aviators  extremely  careful.  They  had  been 
bold  and  resolute,  taking  their  observations  several 
thousand  feet  higher  than  our  pilots,  it  is  true,  but 
neither   anti-aircraft   fire   nor   the   presence   of   our 


PREPARING  FOR  '  ZERO  DAY  '  51 

machines  in  the  air  had  up  to  this  time  deterred  them. 
However,  just  at  the  moment  when  air  work  was  of 
extreme  importance  to  the  Turks,  the  German  flying 
men,  recognising  that  our  pilots  had  new  battle  planes 
and  were  full  of  resource  and  daring,  showed  an  un- 
usual lack  of  enterprise,  and  we  profited  from  their 
inactivity.  The  concentration  of  the  force  in  the 
positions  from  which  it  was  to  attack  Beersheba  was 
to  have  taken  seven  days,  but  owing  to  the  difficulties 
attending  the  development  of  water  at  Asluj  and 
Khalasa  the  time  was  extended  to  ten  days.  During 
this  period  the  uppermost  thought  of  commanders 
was  to  conceal  their  movements.  All  marching  was 
done  at  night  and  no  move  of  any  kind  was  permitted 
till  nearly  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  enemy 
aircraft  were  usually  at  rest  and  the  light  was  suffi- 
ciently dull  to  prevent  the  Fritzes  seeing  much  if 
they  had  made  an  exceptionally  late  excursion.  All 
the  tents  and  temporary  shelters  which  had  been 
occupied  for  weeks  were  left  standing.  Cookhouses, 
horse  hnes,  canteens,  and  so  on  were  untouched,  and 
one  had  an  eerie  feeling  in  passing  at  night  through 
these  untenanted  camping  groimds,  deserted  and 
lifeless,  and  a  prey  to  the  jackal  and  pariah  dog.  A 
vast  area  of  many  square  miles  which  had  held  tens 
of  thousands  of  troops  and  animals  almost  became 
a  wilderness  again,  and  the  few  natives  hereabouts 
who  had  made  large  profits  from  the  sale  of  eggs,  fruit, 
and  vegetables  looked  disconsolate  and  bewildered 
at  the  change,  hoping  and  believing  that  the  empty 
tents  merely  denoted  a  temporary  absence.  But  the 
great  majority  of  the  Arniy  never  came  that  way 
again. 

When  the  infantry  started  on  the  march,  divisions 
and  brigades  had  allotted  to  them  particular  areas 
for  their  march  routes,  and  all  over  that  country. 


52  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

where  scarcely  a  tree  or  native  hut  existed  to  make  a 
landmark,  there  were  dotted  small  arrow-pointed 
boards  with  the  direction  '  A  road,'  '  B  road,'  '  Z  road,' 
as  the  case  might  be.  Marching  in  the  dark  hours 
when  a  refreshing  air  succeeded  the  heat  of  the  day, 
the  troops  halted  as  soon  as  a  purple  flush  threw  into 
high  relief  the  southern  end  of  the  Judean  hills,  and 
they  hid  themselves  in  the  wadis  and  broken  ground  ; 
and  on  one  unit  vacating  a  bivouac  area  it  was  occupied 
by  another,  thus  making  the  areas  in  which  the  troops 
rested  as  few  as  possible. 

The  concentration  was  worked  to  a  time-table. 
Not  only  were  brigades  allotted  certain  marches  each 
night,  but  they  were  given  specified  times  to  cover 
certain  distances,  and  these  were  arranged  according 
to  the  condition  of  the  gromid.  In  parts  it  was  very 
broken  and  covered  with  loose  stones,  and  the  pace 
of  uifantry  by  night  was  very  slightly  more  than  one 
mile  per  hour.  The  routes  for  guns  were  not  chosen 
mitil  the  whole  comitry  had  been  recomioitred,  and 
it  was  a  highly  creditable  performance  for  artillery 
to  get  their  field  guns  and  heavy  howitzer  batteries 
through  to  the  time-table.  But  the  clockwork  pre- 
cision of  the  movements  reflected  even  more  highly 
on  the  staff  working  out  the  details  than  on  the  in- 
fantry and  artillery,  and  it  may  be  said  with  perfect 
truth  that  the  staff  made  no  miscalculation  or  mistake. 
The  XXth  Corps  staff  maps  and  plans,  and  the 
details  accompanying  them,  were  masterpieces  of 
clearness  and  completeness.  The  men  who  fought 
out  the  plans  to  a  triumphant  finish  were  glad  to 
recognise  this  perfection  of  staff  work.^ 

^  See  Appendix  vi. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY 

The  XXth  Corps  began  its  movement  on  the  night 
of  20-21st  October.  The  whole  Corps  was  not  on  the 
march,  but  a  sufficient  force  was  sent  forward  to  form 
supply  dumps  and  to  store  water  at  Esani  for  troops 
covering  Desert  Mounted  Corps  engineers  engaged 
on  the  development  of  water  at  Khalasa  and  Asluj. 
Some  of  the  AustraUan  and  New  Zealand  troops  en- 
gaged on  this  work  had  previously  been  at  these  places. 
In  the  early  summer  it  was  thought  desirable  to 
destroy  the  Turkish  railway  which  ran  from  Beer- 
sheba  to  Asluj  and  on  to  Kossaima,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent an  enemy  raid  on  our  communications  between 
El  Arish  and  Rafa,  and  the  mounted  troops  with  the 
Imperial  Camel  Corps  had  had  a  most  successful  day 
in  destroying  many  miles  of  hne  and  several  bridges. 
The  Turks  were  badly  in  need  of  rails  for  the  line  they 
were  then  constructing  down  to  Deir  Sineid,  and  they 
had  hfted  some  of  the  rails  between  Asluj  and  Kos- 
saima,  but  during  our  raid  we  broke  every  rail  over 
some  fifteen  miles  of  track.  Khalasa  and  Asluj  being 
water  centres  became  the  points  of  concentration 
for  two  mounted  divisions,  and  the  splendid  Colonials 
in  the  engineer  sections  worked  at  the  wells  as  if  the 
success  of  the  whole  enterprise  depended  upon  their 
efforts,  as,  indeed,  to  a  very  large  extent  it  did. 
Theirs  was  not  an  eight  hours  day.  They  worked 
under  many  difficulties,  often  thigh  deep  in  water  and 
mud,  cleaning  out  and  deepening  wells  and  installing 

53 


54  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

power  pumps,  putting  up  large  canvas  tanks  for 
storage,  and  making  water  troughs.  The  results 
exceeded  anticipations,  and  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
on  a  day  when  the  calls  on  his  time  were  many  and 
urgent,  made  a  long  journey  to  thank  the  officers  and 
men  for  the  work  they  had  done  and  to  express  his 
high  appreciation  of  their  skill  and  energy. 

The  principal  work  carried  out  by  the  XXth  Corps 
during  the  period  of  concentration  consisted  in  laying 
the  standard  gauge  line  to  I  mar  a  and  opening  the 
station  at  that  place  on  October  28  ;  prolonging  the 
railway  Une  to  a  point  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north- 
north-east  of  Karm,  where  the  station  was  opened 
on  November  3  ;  completing  by  October  30  the  light 
railway  from  the  east  bank  of  the  wadi  Ghuzze  at 
GamU  via  Karm  to  Khasif ;  and  developing  water  at 
Esani,  Malaga,  and  Abu  Ghalyun  for  the  use  first  by 
cavalry  detachments  and  then  by  the  60th  Division. 
Cisterns  in  the  Khasif  and  Imsiri  area  were  stocked 
with  60,000  gallons  of  water  to  be  used  by  the  53rd 
and  74th  Divisions,  and  this  supply  was  to  be  sup- 
plemented by  camel  convoys.    Apparently  the  enemy 
knew  very  Uttle  about  the  concentration  until  about 
October  26,  and  even  then  he  could  have  had  only 
sUght  knowledge  of  the  extent  of   our  movements, 
and  probably  knew  nothing  at  all  of  where  the  first 
blow  was  to  fall.     In  the  early  hours  of  October  27 
he  did  make  an  attempt  to  interfere  with  our  con- 
centration, and  there  was  a  spirited  little  action  on 
our  outpost  line  which  had  been  pushed  out  beyond 
the  plain  to  a  line  of  low  hills  near  the  wadi  Hanafish. 
The  Turks  in  overwhelming  force  met  a  most  stubborn 
defence  by  the  Middlesex  Yeomanry,  and  if  the  enemy 
took  these  London  yeomen  as  an  average  sample  of 
General  Allenby's  troops,  this  engagement  must  have 
given  them  a  foretaste  of  what  was  in  store  for  them. 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  55 

The   Middlesex   Yeomanry   (the    1st     County    of 
London  Yeomanry,  to  give  the  regiment  the  name  by 
which  it  is  officially  known,  though  the  men  almost 
invariably  use  the  much  older  Territorial  title)  and 
the  21st  Machine  Gun  Squadron,  held  the  long  ridge 
from  El  Buggar  to  hill  630.     There  was  a  squadron 
dismounted  on  hill  630,  three  troops  on  hill  720,  the 
next  and  highest  point  on  the  ridge,  and  a  post  at 
El  Buggar.    At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  latter 
post  was  fired  on  by  a  Turkish  cavalry  patrol,  and  an 
hour  later  it  was  evident  that  the  enemy  intended  to 
try  to  drive  us  off  the  ridge,  his  occupation  of  which 
would  have  given  him  the  power  to  harass  railway 
construction  parties  by  sheU-fire,  even  if  it  did  not 
entirely  stop  the  work.     Some  3000  Turkish  infantry, 
1200  cavalry,  and  twelve  guns  had  advanced  from  the 
Kauwukah  system  of  defences  to  attack  our  outpost 
line  on  the  ridge.     They  heavily  engaged  hill  630, 
working    round    both    flanks,    and    brought    heavy 
machine-gun  and  artillery  fke  to  bear  on  the  squadron 
holding  it.     The  Royal  Flying  Corps  estimated  that 
a  force  of  2000  men  attacked  the  garrison,  which  was 
completely  cut  off. 

A  squadron  of  the  City  of  London  Yeomanry  sent 
to  reinforce  was  held  up  by  a  machine-gun  barrage 
and  had  to  withdraw.  The  garrison  held  out  magni- 
ficently all  day  in  a  support  trench  close  behind  the 
crest  against  odds  of  twenty  to  one,  and  repeatedly 
beat  off  rushes,  although  the  bodies  of  dead  Turks 
showed  that  they  got  as  close  as  forty  yards  from  the 
defenders.  Two  officers  were  wounded,  and  four 
other  ranks  killed  and  twelve  wounded. 

The  attack  on  hill  720  was  made  by  1200  cavalry 
supported  by  a  heavy  volume  of  shell  and  machine- 
gun  fire.  During  the  early  morning  two  desperate 
charges  were  beaten  off,  but  in  a  third  charge  the 


56  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

enemy  gained  possession  of  the  hill  after  the  detach- 
ment had  held  out  for  six  hours.  All  our  officers 
were  killed  or  wounded  and  all  the  men  were  casual- 
ties except  three.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  the 
Turks  were  holding  this  position  in  strength  against 
the  3rd  Australian  Light  Horse,  but  two  infantry 
brigades  of  the  53rd  Division  were  moving  towards 
the  ridge,  and  during  the  evening  the  enemy  retired 
and  we  held  the  ridge  from  this  time  on  quite  securely. 
The  strong  defence  of  the  Middlesex  Yeomanry  un- 
doubtedly prevented  the  Turks  estabhshing  them- 
selves on  the  ridge,  and  saved  the  infantry  from  having 
to  make  a  night  attack  which  might  have  been  costly. 
Thereafter  the  enemy  made  no  attempt  to  interfere 
with  the  concentration.  The  yeomanry  losses  in 
this  encounter  were  1  officer  and  23  other  ranks 
killed,  5  officers  and  48  other  ranks  wounded,  2 
officers  and  8  other  ranks  missing. 

On  the  night  of  October  30-31  a  brilliant  moon 
lit  up  the  whole  country.  The  day  had  been  very 
hot,  and  at  sunset  an  entire  absence  of  wind  promised 
that  the  night  march  of  nearly  40,000  troops  of  all 
arms  would  be  attended  by  all  the  discomforts  of 
dust  and  heat.  The  thermometer  fell,  but  there  was 
not  a  breath  of  wind  to  shift  the  pall  of  dust  which 
hung  above  the  long  columns  of  horse,  foot,  and  guns. 
Where  the  tracks  were  sandy  some  brigades  often 
appeared  to  be  advancing  through  one  of  London's 
own  particular  fogs.  Men's  faces  became  caked  with 
yellow  dust,  their  nostrils  were  hot  and  burning,  and 
parched  throats  could  not  be  relieved  because  of  the 
necessity  of  conserving  the  water  allowance.  A  hot 
day  was  in  prospect  on  the  morrow,  and  the  fear  of 
having  to  fight  on  an  empty  water-bottle  prevented 
many  a  gallant  fellow  broaching  his  supply  before 
daybreak.     Most  of  the  men  had  had  a  long  acquaint- 


TURKISH  HEADQUARTERS  AT  GAZA 

(Note  the  Crusader  Lion  in  Wall) 


^!: 


I 

< 

1 

1 

m 

1 

■^A 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  57 

ance  with  heat  in  the  Middle  East,  and  the  high 
temperature  would  have  caused  them  scarcely  any 
trouble  if  there  had  been  wind  to  carry  away  the  dust 
clouds.  The  cavalry  marched  over  harder  and  more 
stony  ground  than  the  infantry.  They  advanced  from 
Klialasa  and  Asluj  a  long  way  south  of  Beersheba  to 
the  east  of  the  town.  It  was  a  big  night  march  of 
some  thirty  miles,  but  it  was  well  within  the  powers 
of  the  veterans  of  the  Anzac  Mounted  Division  and 
Australian  Mounted  Division,  whose  men  and  horses 
were  in  admirable  condition. 

The  infantry  were  ordered  to  be  on  their  line  of 
deployment  by  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  October 
31,  and  in  every  case  they  were  before  time.  There 
had  been  many  reconnaissances  by  officers  vvho  were 
to  act  as  guides  to  columns,  and  they  were  quite 
familiar  with  the  ground  ;  and  the  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion columns  were  taken  by  routes  which  had  been 
carefully  selected  and  marked.  In  places  the  banks 
of  wadis  had  been  cut  into  and  ramps  made  to  enable 
the  rough  stony  watercourses  to  be  practicable  for 
wheels,  and,  broken  as  the  country  was,  and  though 
all  previous  preparations  had  to  be  made  without 
arousing  the  suspicions  of  Turks  and  wandering 
Bedouins,  there  was  no  incident  to  check  the  progress 
of  infantry  or  guns.  Occasional  rifle  fire  and  some 
shelling  occurred  during  the  early  hours,  but  at  a 
Httle  after  three  a.m.  the  XXth  Corps  advanced  head- 
quarters had  the  news  that  all  columns  had  reached 
their  allotted  positions. 

The  XXth  Corps  plan  was  to  attack  the  enemy's 
works  between  the  Khalasa  road  and  the  wadi  Saba 
with  the  60th  and  74th  Divisions,  while  the  defences 
north  of  the  wadi  Saba  were  to  be  masked  by  the 
Imperial  Camel  Corps  Brigade  and  two  battalions  of 
the  53rd  Division,  the  remainder  of  the  latter  divi- 


58  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

sion  protecting  the  left  flank  of  the  Corps  from  any 
attack  by  enemy  troops  wlio  might  move  south  from 
the  Sheria  area.     The  lirst  objective  was  a  hill  marked 
on  the  map  as  '  1070,'  about  6000  yards  south-west 
of  Beersheba.     It  was  a  prominent  feature,  500  yards 
or  perhaps  a  little  more  from  a  portion  of  the  enemy's 
main  line,  and  the  Turks  held  it  strongly  and  were 
supported  by  a  section  of  German  machine-gimners. 
We  had  to  win  this  height  in  order  to  get  good  ob- 
servation of  the  enemy's  main  line  of  works,  and  to 
allow  of  the  advance  of  field  artillery  within  wire- 
cutting  range  of  an  elaborate  system  of  works  pro- 
tecting Beersheba  from  an  advance  from  the  west.    At 
six  the  guns  began  to  bombard  1070,  and  the  volume 
of  fire  concentrated  on  that  spot  must  have  given  the 
Turks  a  big  surprise.     On  a  front  of  4500  yards  we 
had  in  action  seventy-six  18-pounders,  twenty  4-5- 
inch   howitzers,  and  four   3  •7-inch  howitzers,  while 
eight  60-pounders,  eight  6-inch  howitzers,  and  four 
4*5-inch  howitzers  were  employed  in  counter  battery 
work.     The  absence  of  wind  placed  us  at  a  heavy 
disadvantage.     The   high   explosive   shells   bursting 
about  the  crest  of  1070  raised  enormous  clouds  of 
dust  which  obscured  everything,  and  after  a  short 
while  even  the  flames  of  exploding  shells  were  en- 
tirely hidden  from  view.     The  gunners  had  to  stop 
firing  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  to  allow  the  dust 
to  settle.      They  then  reopened,   and   by  half-past 
eight,  the  wire-cutting  being  reported  completed,  an 
intense  bombardment  was  ordered,  under  cover  of 
which,  and  with  the  assistance  of  machine-gun  fire 
from  aeroplanes,  the  181st  Infantry  Brigade  of  the 
60th  Division  went  forward  to  the  assault.     They 
captured  the  hill  in  ten  minutes,  only  sustaining  about 
one  hundred  casualties,  and  taking  nearly  as  many 
prisoners.     A  German  machine-gunner  who  fell  into 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  59 

our  hands  bemoaned  the  fact  that  he  had  not  a  weapon 
left — every  one  of  the  machine  guns  had  been  knocked 
out  by  the  artillery,  and  a  number  were  buried  by 
our  fire. 

The  first  phase  of  the  operations  having  thus  ended 
successfully  quite  early  in  the  day,  the  second  stage 
was  entered  upon.     Field  guns  were  rushed  forward 
at  the  gallop  over  ground  broken  by  shallow  wadis 
and  up  and  down  a  very  uneven  stony  surface.     The 
gun  teams  were  generally  exposed  during  the  advance 
and  were  treated  to  heavy  shrapnel  ^e,  but  they 
swung  into  action    at   prearranged  points  and  set 
about  wire-cutting  with  excellent  effect.      The  first 
part  of  the  second  phase  consisted  in  reducing  the 
enemy's  main  line  from  the  Khalasa  road  to  the  wadi 
Saba,  though  the  artillery  bombarded  the  whole  line. 
The  60th  Division  on  the  right  had  two  brigades 
attacking  and  one  in  divisional  reserve,  and  the  74th 
Division  attacking  on  the  left  of  the  60th  likewise 
had  a  brigade  in  reserve.     The  74th,  while  waiting  to 
advance,   came    under   considerable   shell-fire   from 
batteries  on  the  north  of  the  wadi,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  their  fire  could  be  silenced.     As  a  rule 
the  enemy  works  were  cut  into  roclvy,  rising  ground 
and  the  trenches  were  well  enclosed  in  wire  fixed  to 
iron  stanchions.     They  were  strongly  made  and  there 
were  possibihties  of  prolonged  opposition,  but  by  the 
time  the  big  assault  was  launched  the  Turks  knew 
they  were  being  attacked  on  both  sides  of   Beersheba 
and  they  must  have  become  anxious  about  a  line  of 
retreat.     General  Shea  reported  that  the  wire  in  front 
of  him  was  cut  before  noon,  but  General  Girdwood 
was  not  certain  that  the  wire  was  sufficiently  broken 
on  the  74th  Division's  front,  though  he  intimated  to 
the  Corps  Commander  that  he  was  ready  to  attack 
at  the  same  time  as  the  60th.     It  still  continued  a 


60  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

windless  day,  and  the  dust  clouds  prevented  any 
observation  of  the  wire  entanglements.  General 
Girdwood  turned  this  disadvantage  to  account,  and 
ordering  his  artillery  to  raise  their  fire  slightly  so  that 
it  should  fall  just  in  front  of  and  about  the  trenches, 
put  up  what  was  in  effect  a  dust  barrage,  and  under 
cover  of  it  selected  detachments  of  his  infantry  ad- 
vanced almost  into  the  bursting  shell  to  cut  passages 
through  the  wire  with  wire-cutters.  The  dismounted 
yeomanry  of  the  231st  and  230th  Infantry  Brigades 
rushed  through,  and  by  half -past  one  the  74  th  Divi- 
sion had  secured  their  objectives.  The  179th  and 
181st  Brigades  of  the  60th  Division  had  won  their 
trenches  almost  an  hour  earlier,  and  about  5000  yards 
of  works  were  in  our  hands  south  of  the  wadi  Saba. 
The  enemy  had  3000  yards  of  trenches  north  of  the 
wadi,  and  though  these  were  threatened  from  the 
south  and  west,  it  w^as  not  until  five  o'clock  that  the 
230th  Brigade  occupied  them,  the  Turks  clearing 
out  during  the  bombardment.  During  the  day,  on 
the  left  of  the  74th  Division,  the  Imperial  Camel 
Corps  Brigade  and  two  battalions  of  the  53rd  Division 
held  the  ground  to  the  north  of  the  wadi  Saba  to  a 
point  where  tho  remainder  of  the  53rd  Division 
watched  for  the  approach  of  any  enemy  force  from 
the  north,  while  the  10th  Division  about  Shellal 
protected  the  line  of  communications  east  of  the  wadi 
Ghuzze,  and  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  was  on 
the  west  side  of  the  wadi  Ghuzze  in  G.H.Q.  reserve. 
The  XXth  Corps'  losses  were  7  officers  killed  and  42 
wounded,  129  other  ranks  killed,  988  wounded  and 
5  missing,  a  light  total  considering  the  nature  of  the 
works  carried  during  the  day.  It  was  obvious  that 
the  enemy  was  taken  completely  by  surprise  by  the 
direction  of  the  attack,  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
we  carried  his  strongest  points  was  overwhelming. 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  61 

The  Turk  did  not  attempt  anything  in  the  nature  of 
a  counter-attack  by  the  Beersheba  garrison,  nor  did 
he  make  any  move  from  Hareira  against  the  53rd 
Division.  Had  he  done  so  the  10th  Division  and  the 
Yeomanry  Momited  Division  would  have  seized  the 
opportunity  of  falling  on  him  from  Shellal,  and  the 
Turk  chose  the  safer  course  of  allowing  the  Beersheba 
garrison  to  stand  unaided  in  its  own  defences.  The 
XXtli  Corps'  captures  included  25  officers,  394  other 
ranks,  6  guns,  and  numerous  machine  guns. 

The  Desert  Mounted  Corps  met  with  stubborn 
opposition  in  their  operations  south-east  and  east  of 
Beersheba,  but  they  were  carried  through  no  less  suc- 
cessfully than  those  of  the  XXth  Corps.  The  mounted 
men  had  had  a  busy  time.  General  Ryrie's  2nd 
Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  and  the  Imperial 
Camel  Corps  Brigade  had  moved  southwards  on 
October  2,  and  on  them  and  on  the  1st  and  2nd  Field 
Squadrons  Austrahan  Engineers  the  bulk  of  the  work 
fell  of  developing  water  and  making  and  marking 
tracks  which,  in  the  sandy  soil,  became  badly  cut  up. 
On  the  evening  of  October  30  the  Anzac  Mounted 
Division  was  at  Asluj,  the  Australian  Mounted  Divi- 
sion at  Khalasa,  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade  at  Esani, 
Imperial  Camel  Brigade  at  Hiseia,  and  the  Yeomanry 
Mounted  Division  in  reserve- at  Shellal.  The  Anzac 
Division  commanded  by  General  Chaytor  left  Asluj 
during  the  night,  and  in  a  march  of  twenty-four  miles 
round  the  south  of  Beersheba  met  with  only  shght 
opposition  on  the  way  to  Bir  el  Hamam  and  Bir 
Sahm  abu  Irgeig,  between  five  and  seven  miles  east  of 
the  town.  The  2nd  Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade 
during  the  morning  advanced  north  to  take  the  high 
hill  Tel  el  Sakaty,  a  httle  east  of  the  Beersheba- 
Hebron  road,  which  was  captured  at  one  o'clock,  and 
the  brigade  then  swept  across  the  metalled  road  which 


62  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

was  in  quite  fair  condition,  and  whicli  subsequently  ^ 
was  of  great  service  to  us  during  the  advance  of  one 
infantry  division  on  Belhlcheni  and  Jerusalem.  The 
1st  Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  commanded  by 
General  Cox,  and  the  New  Zealand  Mounted  Rifles 
Brigade  under  General  Mcldrum,  moved  against  Tel 
el  Saba,  a  1000-feet  hill  which  rises  very  precipitously 
on  the  northern  bank  of  the  wadi  Saba,  4000  yards 
due  east  of  Beersheba.  Tel  el  Saba  is  believed  to 
be  the  original  site  of  Beersheba.  It  had  been  made 
into  a  strong  redoubt  and  was  well  held  by  a  sub- 
stantial garrison  adequately  dug  in  and  supported 
by  nests  of  machine-gunners.  The  right  bank  of  the 
wadi  Klialil  was  also  strongly  held,  and  between  the 
Hebron  road  and  Tel  el  Saba  some  German  machine- 
gunners  in  three  houses  offered  determined  opposition. 
The  New  Zealanders  and  a  number  of  General  Cox's 
men  crept  up  the  wadi  Saba,  taking  full  advantage 
of  the  cover  offered  by  the  high  banks,  and  formed  up 
under  the  hill  of  Saba.  They  then  dashed  up  the 
steep  sides  while  the  horse  artillery  lashed  the  crest 
with  their  fire,  and  driving  the  Turks  from  their 
trenches  had  captured  the  hill  by  three  o'clock.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  1st  Light  Horse  Brigade 
suitably  dealt  with  the  machine-gunners  in  the  houses. 
Much  ground  east  of  Beersheba  had  thus  been  made 
good,  and  the  Hebron  road  was  denied  to  the  garrison 
of  the  town  as  a  line  of  retreat.  The  Anzac  Mounted 
Division  was  then  reinforced  by  General  Wilson's  3rd 
Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade,  and  by  six  p.m.  the 
Division  held  a  long  crescent  of  hills  from  Point  970,  a 
mile  north  of  Beersheba,  through  Tel  el  Sakaty,  round 
south-eastwards  to  Bir  el  Ha  mam. 

General  Hodgson's  Australian  Mounted  Division 
had  a  night  march  of  thirty-four  miles  from  Kiialasa  to 
Iswawin,  south-east  of  Beersheba,  and  after  the  3rd 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  63 

Light  Horse  Brigade  had  been  detached  to  assist  the 
Anzac  Division,  orders  were  given  to  General  Grant's 
4th  Austrahan  Light  Horse  Brigade  to  attack  and 
take  the  town  of  Beersheba  from  the  east.  The  orders 
were  received  at  four  o'clock,  and  until  we  had  got 
an  absolute  hold  on  Tel  el  Saba  an  attack  on  the  town 
from  this  direction  would  have  been  suicidal,  as  an 
attacking  force  would  have  been  between  two  fires. 
The  shelling  of  the  cavalry  during  the  day  had  been 
rather  hot,  and  enemy  airmen  had  occasionally  bombed 
them.  It  was  getting  late,  and  as  it  was  of  the  greatest 
importance  that  the  town's  available  water  should  be 
secured  that  night,  General  Grant  was  directed  to 
attack  with  the  utmost  vigour.  His  brigade  worthily 
carried  out  its  orders.  The  ground  was  very  uneven 
and  was  covered  with  a  mass  of  large  stones  and 
shingle.  The  trenches  were  well  manned  and  strongly 
held,  but  General  Grant  ordered  them  to  be  taken  at 
the  gaUop.  The  Australians  carried  them  with  an 
irresistible  charge  ;  dismounted,  cleared  the  first  line 
of  all  the  enemy  in  it,  ran  on  and  captured  the  second 
and  third  system  of  trenches,  and  then,  their  horses 
having  been  brought  up,  galloped  into  the  town  to 
prevent  any  destruction  of  the  wells.  The  first-line 
eastern  trenches  of  Beersheba  were  eight  feet  deep 
and  four  feet  wide,  and  as  there  were  many  of  the 
enemy  in  them  they  were  a  serious  obstacle  to  be 
taken  in  one  rush.  This  charge  was  a  sterUng  feat, 
and  unless  the  town  had  been  occupied  that  night 
most,  if  not  all,  of  the  cavalry  would  have  had  to 
withdraw  many  miles  to  water,  and  subsequent  opera- 
tions might  have  been  imperilled.  Until  we  had  got 
Beersheba  there  appeared  small  prospect  of  watering 
more  than  two  brigades  in  this  area. 

Luckily  there  had  been  two  thunderstorms  a  few 
days  before  the  attack,  and  we  found  a  few  pools  of 


64  HOW  JERUSALEI\I  WAS  WON 

sweet  water  which  enabled  the  whole  of  the  Corps' 
horses  to  be  watered  during  the  night.  These  pools 
soon  dried  up  and  the  w  ater  problem  again  became 
serious.  The  Commander-in-Chief  rewarded  General 
Grant  with  the  D.S.O.  as  an  appreciation  of  his  work, 
and  the  brigade  was  gratified  at  a  well-earned  honour. 
The  7th  IMounted  Brigade  was  held  up  for  some  time 
hi  the  afternoon  by  a  flankmg  fire  from  Ras  Ghannam, 
south  of  Beersheba,  but  this  was  silenced  in  time  to 
enable  the  brigade  to  assist  in  the  occupation  of  Beer- 
sheba at  nightfall.  The  4th  Light  Horse  Brigade's  cap- 
tures in  the  charge  were  58  officers,  1090  other  ranks, 
and  10  field  guns,  and  the  total  '  bag  '  of  the  Desert 
Mounted  Corps  was  70  officers  and  1458  other  ranks. 

The  loss  of  Beersheba  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the 
Turk.  Yet  he  did  not  even  then  reahse  to  the  full 
the  significance  of  our  capture  of  the  town.  He 
certainly  failed  to  appreciate  that  we  were  to  use  it 
as  a  jumping-off  place  to  attack  his  main  line  from 
Gaza  to  Sheria  by  rolling  it  up  from  left  to  right.  In 
this  plan  there  is  no  doubt  that  General  Allenby 
entirely  deceived  his  enemy,  for  in  the  next  few  days 
there  was  the  best  of  evidence  to  show  that  General 
Kress  von  Kressenstein  beheved  we  were  going  to 
advance  from  Beersheba  to  Jerusalem  up  the  Hebron 
road,  and  he  made  his  dispositions  to  oppose  us  here. 
It  was  not  merely  the  moral  effect  of  the  loss  of  Beer- 
sheba that  disturbed  the  Turks  ;  they  had  been 
driven  out  of  a  not  unimportant  stronghold. 

All  through  the  many  centuries  since  Abraham  and 
his  people  led  a  pastoral  hfe  near  the  wells,  Beersheba 
had  been  a  meanly  appointed  place.  There  were  no 
signs  as  far  as  I  could  see  of  any  elaborate  ruins  to 
indicate  anything  larger  than  a  native  settlement. 
Elsewhere  we  saw  crumbling  walls  of  ancient  castles 
and  fortresses  to  tell  of  conquerors  and  glories  long 


THE  BEERSHEBA  VICTORY  65 

since  faded  away,  ®f  relics  of  an  age  when  great 
captains  led  martial  men  into  new  worlds  to  conquer, 
of  the  time  when  the  Crusading  spirit  was  abroad  and 
the  flower  of  Western  chivalry  came  East  to  hold  the 
land  for  Christians.  Here  the  native  quarter  sug- 
gested that  trade  in  Beersheba  was  purely  local  and 
not  ambitious,  that  it  provided  nothing  for  the  world's 
commerce  save  a  few  skins  and  hides,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  were  content  to  live  the  rude,  simple  lives 
of  their  forefathers.  But  the  enterprising  German 
arrived,  and  you  could  tell  by  his  work  how  he  in- 
tended to  compel  a  change  in  the  unchanging  character 
of  the  peo^jle.  He  built  a  handsome  Mosque — but 
before  he  was  driven  out  he  wired  and  mined  it  for 
destruction.  He  built  a  seat  of  government,  a  hos- 
pital, and  a  barracks,  all  of  them  pretentious  buildings 
for  such  a  town,  well  designed,  constructed  of  stone 
with  red-tiled  roofs,  and  the  gardens  were  nicely  laid 
out.  There  were  a  railway  station  and  storehouses 
on  a  scale  which  would  not  yield  a  return  on  capital 
expenditure  for  many  years,  and  the  water  tower  and 
engine  sheds  were  built  to  last  longer  than  merely 
military  necessities  demanded.  They  were  fashioned 
by  European  craftsmen,  and  the  sohdity  of  the 
structures  offered  strange  contrast  to  the  rough- 
and-ready  native  houses.  The  primary  object  of  the 
Hun  scheme  was,  doubtless,  to  make  Beersheba  a 
suitable  base  for  an  attack  on  the  Suez  Canal,  and 
the  manner  of  improving  the  Hebron  road,  of  setting 
road  engineers  to  construct  zigzags  up  hills  so  that 
lorries  could  move  over  the  road,  was  part  of  the  plan 
of  men  whose  vision  was  centred  on  cutting  the  Suez 
Canal  artery  of  the  British  Empire's  body.  The  best 
laid  schemes  .  .  . 

When  I  entered  Beersheba  our  troops  held  a  line 
of  outposts  sufficiently  far  north  of  the  town  to  pre- 


66  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

vent  the  Turks  shelling  it,  and  the  place  was  secure 
except  from  aircraft  bombs,  of  which  a  number  fell 
into  the  town  without  damaging  anything  of  much 
consequence.  Some  of  the  troops  fell  victims  to 
booby  traps.  Apparently  harmless  whisky  bottles 
exploded  when  attempts  were  made  to  draw  the  corks, 
and  several  small  mines  went  up.  Besides  the  mines 
in  the  Mosque  there  was  a  good  deal  of  wiring  about 
the  railway  station,  and  some  rolling  stock  was  made 
ready  for  destruction  the  instant  a  door  was  opened. 
The  ruse  was  expected ;  some  Australian  engineers 
drew  the  charges,  and  the  coaches  were  afterwards 
of  considerable  service  to  the  supply  branch. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GAZA  DEFENCES 

Meanwhile  there  were  important  happenings  at 
the  other  end  of  the  line.  Gaza  was  about  to  submit 
to  the  biggest  of  all  her  ordeals.  She  had  been  a  bone 
of  contention  for  thousands  of  years.  The  Pharaohs 
coveted  her  and  more  than  3500  years  ago  made 
bloody  strife  within  the  environs  of  the  town.  Alex- 
ander the  Great  besieged  her,  and  Persians  and  Arab- 
ians opposed  that  mighty  general.  The  Ptolemies 
and  the  Antiochi  for  centuries  fought  for  Gaza,  whose 
inhabitants  had  a  greater  taste  for  the  mart  than  for 
the  sword,  and  when  the  Maccabees  were  carrying  a 
victorious  war  through  Philistia,  the  people  of  Gaza 
bought  off  Jonathan,  but  the  Jews  occupied  the  city 
itself  about  a  century  before  the  Christian  era.  Later 
on  the  place  was  captured  after  a  year's  siege  and 
destroyed,  and  for  long  it  remained  a  mass  of  moulder- 
ing ruins.  Pompey  revived  it,  making  it  a  free  city, 
and  Gabinius  extended  it  close  to  the  harbour,  whilst 
under  Csesar  and  Herod  its  prosperity  and  fame 
increased.  In  succeeding  centuries  Gaza's  commerce 
flourished  under  the  Greeks,  who  founded  schools 
famous  for  rhetoric  and  philosophy,  till  the  Maho- 
medan  wave  swept  over  the  land  in  the  first  half 
of  the  seventh  century,  when  the  town  became  a 
shadow  of  its  former  self,  though  it  continued  to 
exist  as  a  centre  for  trade.  The  Crusaders  m^^e 
their  influence  felt,  and  many  are  the  traces  of  their 
period  in  this  ancient  city,  but  Askalon  always  had 

67 


68  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

more  Crusader  support.  Napoleon's  attack  on  Gaza 
found  Abdallab's  army  in  a  very  different  state  of 
preparedness  from  von  Ivress's  Turkish  army.  Nearly 
all  Abdallah's  artillery  was  left  behind  in  a  gun  park 
at  Jaffa  owing  to  lack  of  transport,  and  though  he 
had  a  numerically  superior  force  he  did  not  like 
Napoleon's  dispositions,  and  retreated  when  Kleber 
moved  up  the  plain  to  pass  between  Gaza  and  the 
sea,  and  the  cavalry  advanced  east  of  the  Mound  of 
Hebron,  or  Ali  INIuntar,  as  we  know  the  hill  up  which 
Samson  is  reputed  to  have  carried  the  gates  and  bar 
of  Gaza.  For  nearly  a  century  and  a  quarter  since 
Napoleon  passed  forwards  and  backwards  through 
the  town,  Gaza  pursued  the  arts  of  peace  in  the 
lethargic  spirit  which  suits  the  native  temperament, 
but  in  eight  months  of  1917  it  was  the  cockpit  of 
strife  in  the  Middle  East,  and  there  was  often  crammed 
into  one  day  as  much  fighting  energy  as  was  shown 
in  all  the  battles  of  the  past  thirty-five  centuries, 
Napoleon's  campaign  included. 

Fortunately  after  the  battles  of  March  and  April 
nearly  all  the  civilian  population  left  the  town  for 
quieter  quarters.  Some  of  them  on  returning  must 
have  had  difficulty  in  identifying  their  homes.  In 
the  centre  of  the  town,  where  bazaars  radiated  from 
the  quarter  of  which  the  Great  Mosque  was  the  hub, 
the  houses  were  a  mass  of  stones  and  rubble,  and  the 
narrow  streets  and  tortuous  byways  were  filled  with 
fallen  walls  and  roofs.  The  Great  Mosque  had 
entirely  lost  its  beauty.  We  had  shelled  it  because 
its  minaret,  one  of  those  delicately  fashioned  spires 
w^hich,  seen  from  a  distance,  lead  a  traveller  to 
imagine  a  native  to^vn  in  the  East  to  be  arranged  on 
an  artistic  and  orderly  plan,  was  used  as  a  Turkish 
observation  post,  and  the  Mosque  itself  as  an  am- 
munition store.     I  am  told  our  guns  were  never  laid 


GAZA  DEFENCES  69 

on  to  this  objective  until  there  was  an  accident  within 
it  which  exploded  the  ammunition.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  there  was  ample  justification  for  shelling  the 
Mosque.  I  went  in  to  examine  the  structure  a  few 
hours  after  the  Turks  had  been  compelled  to  evacuate 
the  town,  and  whilst  they  were  then  shelling  it  with 
unpleasant  severity.  Amid  the  wrecked  marble 
columns,  the  broken  pulpit,  the  torn  and  twisted 
lamps  and  crumbling  walls  were  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  rounds  of  small-arms  ammunition,  most  of  it 
destroyed  by  explosion.  A  great  shell  had  cut  the 
minaret  in  half  and  had  left  exposed  telephone  wires 
leading  direct  to  army  headquarters  and  to  the 
Turkish  gunners'  fire  control  station.  Most  of  the 
Mosque  furniture  and  all  the  carpets  had  been  re- 
moved, but  a  few  torn  copies  of  the  Koran,  some  of 
them  in  manuscript  with  marginal  notes,  lay  mixed 
up  with  German  newspapers  and  some  typical  Turkish 
war  propaganda  literature.  That  Mosque,  which 
Saladin  seized  from  the  Crusaders  and  turned  from 
a  Christian  into  a  Mahomedan  place  of  worship,  was 
unquestionably  used  for  military  purposes,  and  the 
Turks  cared  as  little  for  its  religious  character  or  its 
venerable  age  as  they  did  for  the  mosque  on  Nebi 
Samwil,  where  the  remains  of  the  Prophet  Samuel 
are  supposed  to  rest.  Their  stories  of  the  trouble 
taken  to  avoid  military  contact  with  holy  places  and 
sites  were  all  bunkum  and  eyewash.  They  would 
have  fought  from  the  walls  of  the  Holy  City  and 
placed  machine-gun  nests  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  and  the  Mosque  of  Omar  if  they  had 
thought  it  would  spare  them  the  loss  of  Jerusalem. 

Gaza  had,  as  I  have  said,  been  turned  into  a  fortress 
with  a  mass  of  field  works,  in  places  of  considerable 
natural  strength.  If  our  force  had  been  on  the  de- 
fensive at  Gaza  the  Germans  would  not  have  attacked 


70  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

without  an  army  of  at  least  three  times  our  strength. 
It  is  doubtful  if  the  Turks  put  as  much  material  in 
use  on  Gallipoli  as  they  did  here.  Their  trenches 
were  deeply  cut  and  were  protected  by  an  immense 
amount  of  wire.  In  the  sand-dune  area  they  used  a 
vast  quantity  of  sandbags,  and  they  met  the  shortage 
of  jute  stuffs  by  making  small  sacks  of  bedstead 
hangings  and  curtains  which,  in  the  dry  heat  of  the 
summer,  wore  very  well.  Looking  across  No  Man's 
Land  one  could  easily  pick  out  a  line  of  trenches  by 
a  red,  a  vivid  blue,  or  a  saffron  sandbag.  The  Turkish 
dug-outs  were  most  elaborate  places  of  security. 
The  excavators  had  gone  down  into  the  hard  earth 
well  beneath  the  deep  strata  of  sand,  and  they  roofed 
these  holes  with  six,  eight,  and  sometimes  ten  layers 
of  palm  logs.  We  had  seen  these  beautiful  trees 
disappearing  and  had  guessed  the  reason.  But 
an  even  greater  protection  than  the  devices  of 
miHtary  engineers  had  been  provided  for  the  Turks 
by  Dame  Nature.  Along  the  southern  outskirts 
of  the  town  all  the  fields  were  enclosed  by  giant 
cactus  hedges,  sometimes  with  stems  as  thick  as 
a  man's  body  and  not  infrequently  rearing  their 
strong  limbs  and  prickly  leaves  twenty  feet  above  the 
ground.  The  hedges  w  ere  deep  as  well  as  high.  They 
were  at  once  a  screen  for  defending  troops  and  a 
barrier  as  impenetrable  as  the  w\aUs  of  a  fortress.  If 
one  Ime  of  cactus  hedges  had  been  cut  through,  in- 
fantry would  have  found  another  and  yet  another 
to  a  depth  of  nearly  two  miles,  and  as  the  whole  of 
these  thorny  enclosures  were  commanded  by  a  few 
machine  guns  the  possibility  of  gettmg  through  was 
almost  hopeless.  There  were  similar  hedges  on  the 
eastern  and  western  sides  of  Gaza,  but  they  were  not 
quite  so  deep  as  on  the  south.  On  the  western  side, 
and  extending  south  as  far  as  the  desert  which  the 


GAZA  DEFENCES  71 

Army  had  crossed  with  such  steady,  methodical,  and 
one  may  also  say  painful  progression,  was  a  wide  belt 
of  yellow  sand,  sometimes  settled  down  hard  under 
the  weight  of  heavy  winds,  and  in  other  places  yielding 
to  the  pressure  of  feet.     The  Turks  had  laboured 
hard  in  this  mile  and  a  half  width  of  sand,  right  down 
to  the  sea,  to  protect  their  right  flank.     There  was  a 
point  about  4000  yards  due  west  from  the  edge  of  the 
West  Town  of  Gaza  which  we  called  Sea  Post.    It  was 
the  western  extremity  of  the  enemy's  exceedingly 
intricate  system  of  defences.     The  beach  was  below 
the  level  of  the  Post.     From  Sea  Post  for  about  1500 
yards  the  Turkish  front  Hne  ran  to  Rafa  Redoubt. 
There  were  wired-in  entrenchments  with  strong  points 
here  and  there,  and  a  series  of  communication  trenches 
and  redoubts  behind  them  for  3000  yards  to  Sheikh 
Hasan,  which  was  the  port  of  Gaza,  if  you  can  so 
describe  an  open  roadstead  with  no  landing  facilities. 
From  Rafa  Redoubt  the  contour  of  the  sand  dunes 
permitted  the  enemy  to  construct  an  exceedingly 
strong  line  running  due  south  for  2000  yards,  the 
strongest  points  being  named  by  us  Zowaid  trench. 
El  Burj  trench,  Triangle  trench,  Peach  Orchard,  and 
El  Arish  Redoubt,  the  nomenclature  being  reminis- 
cent of  the  trials  of  the  troops  in  the  desert  march. 
Behind  this  line  there  was  many  a  sunken  passage- 
way and  shelter  from  gunfire,  while  backing  the  whole 
system,  and,  for  reasons  I  have  given,  an  element  of 
defence  as  strong  as  the  prepared  positions,  were 
cactus  hedges  enclosing  the  West  Town's  gardens. 

From  El  Arish  Redoubt  the  hne  ran  east  again  to 
Mazar  trench  with  a  prodigal  expenditure  of  wire  in 
front  of  it,  and  then  south  for  several  hundred  yards, 
when  it  was  thrown  out  to  the  south-west  to  embrace 
a  position  of  high  importance  known  as  Umbrella 
Hill,  a  dune  of  blazing  yellow  sand  facing,  about  500 


72  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

yards  away,  Sauison's  Ridge,  which  we  held  strongly 
and  on  which  the  enemy  often  concentrated  his  fire. 
This  ended  the  Tui'ks'  right-half  section  of  the  Gaza 
defences.     Close    by    passed    what    from    time    im- 
memorial has  been  called  the  Cairo  Road,  a  track 
worn  down  by  caravans  of  camels  moving  towards 
Kantara    on    their    way   with    goods    for   Egyptian 
bazaars.    But  there  was  no  break  in  the  trench  system 
which  ran  across  the  plain,  a  beautiful  green  tinted 
with  the  blooms  of  myriads  of  wild  flowers  when  we 
first  advanced  over  it  in  March,  now  browned  and 
dried  up  by  absolutely  cloudless  summer  days.     In 
the  gardens  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  hills  running 
south  from  Ali  Muntar  the  Turk  had  achieved  much 
spadework,  but  he  had  done  far  more  work  on  the 
hills  themselves,  and  these  were  a  frame  of  fortifica- 
tions for  Ah  Mmitar,  on  which  we  once  sat  for  a  few 
hours,  and  the  possession  of  which  meant  the  re- 
duction of  Gaza.     By  the  end  of  summer  the  hill  of 
Muntar  had  lost  its  shape.     When  we  saw  it  during 
the  first  battle  of  Gaza  it  was  a  bold  feature  sur- 
mounted by  a  few  trees  and  the  whitened  walls  and 
grey  dome  of  a  sheikh's  tomb.     In  the  earher  battles 
of  1917  much  was  done  to  rufile  Muntar' s  crest.     We 
saw  trees  uprooted,  others  lose  their  limbs,  and  naval 
gunfire  threatened  the  foundations  of  the  old  chief's 
burying  place.     But  Ali  Muntar  stoutly  resisted  the 
heavy  shells'  attack.    As  if  Samson's  feat  had  en- 
dowed it  with   some  of  the  strong   man's  powers, 
Muntar  for  a  long  time  received  its  daily  thumps 
stoically  ;  but  by  degrees  the  resistance  of  the  old 
hill  declined,   and  w^hen   agents  reported   that  the 
sheikh's  tomb  w^as  used  as  an  observation  post,  8-inch 
howitzers  got  on  to  it  and  made  it  untenable.     There 
was  a  bit  of  it  left  at  the  end,  but  not  more  than  would 
offer  protection  from  a  rifle  bullet,  and  the  one  tree 


GAZA  DEFENCES  73 

left  standing  was  a  limbless  trunk.  The  crest  of  the 
hill  lost  its  roundness,  and  the  soil  which  had  worked 
out  through  the  shell  craters  had  changed  the  colour 
of  the  summit.  Old  Ali  Muntar  had  had  the  worst 
of  the  bombardment,  and  if  some  future  sheikh  should 
choose  the  site  for  a  summer  residence  he  will  come 
across  a  wealth  of  metal  in  digging  his  foundations. 

To  capture  Gaza  the  Formidable  it  was  proposed 
first  to  take  the  western  defences  from  Umbrella 
Hill  to  Sea  Post,  to  press  on  to  Sheikh  Hasan  and  thus 
turn  the  right  flank  of  the  whole  position.  That 
would  compel  the  enemy  to  reinforce  his  right  flank 
when  he  was  being  heavily  attacked  elsewhere,  and 
if  he  had  been  transferring  his  reserves  to  meet  the 
threat  against  the  left  of  his  main  line  after  Beersheba 
had  been  won  for  the  Empire  he  would  be  in  sore 
trouble.  Gaza  had  abeady  tasted  a  full  sample  of 
the  war  food  we  intended  it  should  consume.  Before 
the  attack  on  Beersheba  had  developed,  ships  of  war 
and  the  heavy  guns  of  XXIst  Corps  had  rattled  its 
defences.  The  warships'  fire  was  chiefly  directed 
on  targets  our  land  guns  could  not  reach.  Observers 
in  aircraft  controlled  the  fire  and  notified  the  de- 
struction of  ammunition  dumps  at  Deir  Sineid  and 
other  places.  The  work  of  the  heavy  batteries  was 
watched  with  much  interest.  Some  were  entirely 
new  batteries  which  had  never  been  in  action  against 
any  enemy,  and  they  only  arrived  on  the  Gaza  front 
five  weeks  before  the  battle.  These  were  not  allowed 
to  register  until  shortly  before  the  battle  began,  and 
they  borrowed  guns  from  other  batteries  in  order  to 
train  the  gun  crews.  So  desirous  was  General  Bulfin 
to  conceal  the  concentration  of  heavies  that  the  wire- 
less code  calls  were  only  those  used  by  batteries  which 
were  in  position  before  his  Corps  was  formed,  and  the 
volume  of  fire  came  as  an  absolute  surprise  to  the 


74  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

enemy.  It  came  as  a  surprise  also  to  some  of  us  in 
cami3  at  G.H.Q.  one  night  at  the  end  of  October. 
Suddenly  there  was  a  terrific  burst  of  fii-e  on  about 
four  miles  of  front.  Vivid  fan-shaped  flashes  stabbed 
the  sky,  the  bright  moonlight  of  the  East  did  not  dim 
the  guns'  lightning,  and  their  thunderous  voices  were 
a  challenge  the  enemy  was  powerless  to  refuse.  He 
took  it  up  slowly  as  if  half  ashamed  of  his  weakness. 
Then  his  fire  increased  in  volume  and  in  strength, 
but  it  ebbed  again  and  we  knew  the  reason.  We 
held  some  big  '  stuff '  for  comiter  battery  work,  and 
our  fire  was  ejffective. 

The  preliminary  bombardment  began  on  October  27 
and  it  grew^  in  intensity  day  by  day.  The  Navy 
co-operated  on  October  29  and  subsequent  days. 
The  whole  line  from  JVIiddlesex  Hill  (close  to  Outpost 
Hill)  to  the  sea  was  subjected  to  heavy  fire,  all  the 
routes  to  the  front  line  were  shelled  during  the  night 
by  60-pounder  and  field-gun  batteries.  Gas  shells 
dosed  the  centres  of  communication  and  bivouac 
areas,  and  every  quarter  of  the  defences  was  made 
uncomfortable.  The  sound-ranging  sections  told  us 
the  enemy  had  between  sixteen  and  twenty-four  guns 
south  of  Gaza,  and  from  forty  to  forty-eight  north  of 
the  town,  and  over  100  guns  were  disclosed,  including 
more  than  thirty  firing  from  the  Tank  Redoubt  well 
away  to  the  eastward.  On  October  29  some  of  the 
guns  south  of  Gaza  had  been  forced  back  by  the 
severity  of  our  counter  battery  work,  and  of  the  ten 
guns  remaining  between  us  and  the  town  on  that  date 
all  except  four  had  been  removed  by  November  2. 
For  several  nights  the  bombardment  continued 
without  a  move  by  infantry.  Then  just  at  the 
moment  von  Kress  was  discussing  the  loss  of  Beer- 
sheba  and  his  plans  to  meet  our  further  advance  in 
that  direction,  some  infantry  of  the  75th  Division 


GAZA  DEFENCES  75 

raided  Outpost  Hill,  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
entrenched  hill  system  south  of  Ali  Muntar,  and  killed 
far  more  Turks  than  they  took  prisoners.  There  was 
an  intense  bombardment  of  the  enemy's  works  at  the 
same  time.  The  next  night — November  1-2 — ^was 
the  opening  of  XXIst  Corps'  great  attack  on  Gaza, 
and  though  the  enemy  did  not  leave  the  town  or  the 
remainder  of  the  trenches  we  had  not  assaulted  till 
nearly  a  week  afterwards,  the  vigour  of  the  attack 
and  the  bravery  with  which  it  was  thrust  home,  and 
the  subsequent  total  failure  of  counter-attacks,  must 
have  made  the  enemy  commanders  realise  on  the 
afternoon  of  November  2  that  Gaza  was  doomed  and 
that  their  boasts  that  Gaza  was  impregnable  were 
thin  air.  Their  reserves  were  on  the  way  to  their  left 
where  they  were  urgently  wanted,  there  was  nothing 
strong  enough  to  replace  such  heavy  wastage  caused 
to  them  by  the  attack  of  the  night  of  November  1  and 
the  morning  of  the  2nd,  and  our  big  gains  of  ground 
were  an  enormous  advantage  to  us  for  the  second 
phase  in  the  Gaza  sector,  for  we  had  bitten  deeply  into 
the  Turks'  right  flank. 

Like  the  concentration  of  the  XXth  Corps  and  the 
Desert  Mounted  Corps  for  the  jump  off  on  to  Beer- 
sheba,  the  preparations  against  the  Turks'  extreme 
right  had  to  be  very  secretly  made.  The  XXIst 
Corps  Commander  had  to  look  a  long  way  ahead. 
He  had  to  consider  the  possibiUty  of  the  enemy 
abandoning  Gaza  when  Beersheba  was  captured, 
and  falling  back  to  the  line  of  the  wadi  Hesi.  His 
troops  had  been  confined  to  trench  warfare  for  months, 
digging  and  sitting  in  trenches,  putting  out  wire, 
going  out  on  listening  patrols,  sniping  and  doing  all 
the  drudgery  in  the  hnes  of  earthworks.  They  were 
hard  and  strong,  their  health  having  considerably 
improved  since  the  early  summer,  but  at  the  end  of 


76  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

September  the  infantry  were  by  no  means  march  fit. 
Keahsing  that,  if  General  Allenby's  operations  were 
successful,  and  no  one  doubted  that,  we  should  have 
a  period  of  open  warfare  when  troops  would  be  called 
upon  to  make  long  marches  and  midergo  the  priva- 
tions entailed  by  transport  difficulties.  General  Bulfin 
brought  as  many  men  as  he  could  spare  from  the 
trenches  back  to  Deir  el  Belah  and  the  coast,  where 
they  had  route  marches  over  the  sand  for  the  restora- 
tion of  their  marchuig  powers.  Gradually  he  ac- 
cumulated supphes  in  sheltered  positions  just  behind 
the  front.  In  three  dumps  were  collected  seven  days' 
mobile  rations,  ammunition,  water,  and  engineers' 
material.  Tracks  were  constructed,  cables  buried, 
concealed  gun  positions  and  brigade  and  battalion 
headquarters  made,  and  from  the  25th  October  troops 
were  ready  to  move  ofi  with  two  days'  rations  on  the 
man.  Should  the  enemy  retire.  General  Hill's  52nd 
(Lowland)  Division  was  to  march  up  the  shore  beneath 
the  sand  cliffs,  get  across  the  wadi  Hesi  at  the  mouth, 
detach  a  force  to  proceed  towards  Askalon,  and  then 
move  eastward  down  to  the  ridge  opposite  Deir 
Smeid,  and,  by  securing  the  bridge  and  crossings  of 
the  wadi  Hesi,  prevent  the  enemy  establishing  him- 
self on  the  north  bank  of  the  wadi.  The  operations 
on  the  night  of  November  1-2  were  conducted  by 
Major-General  Hare,  commanding  the  54th  Division, 
to  which  General  Leggatt's  156th  Infantry  Brigade 
was  temporarily  attached.  The  latter  brigade  was 
given  the  important  task  of  capturmg  Umbrella 
Hill  and  El  Arish  Redoubt.  Umbrella  Hill  was  to 
be  taken  first,  and  as  it  was  anticipated  the  enemy 
would  keep  up  a  strong  artillery  fire  for  a  considerable 
time  after  the  position  had  been  taken,  and  that  his 
fire  would  interfere  with  the  assembly  and  advance 
of  troops  detailed  for  the  second   phase,  the    first 


GAZA  DEFENCES  77 

phase  was  timed  to  start  four  hours  earher  than 
the  second.  For  several  days  the  guns  had  opened 
intense  fire  at  midnight  and  again  at  3  a.m.  so  that 
the  enemy  should  not  attach  particular  importance 
to  our  artillery  activity  on  the  night  of  action,  and  a 
creeping  barrage  nightly  swept  across  No  Man's  Land 
to  clear  off  the  chain  of  listening  posts  established 
300  yards  in  front  of  the  enemy's  trenches.  Some 
heavy  banks  of  cloud  moved  across  the  sky  when  the 
Scottish  Rifle  Brigade  assembled  for  the  assault,  but 
the  moon  shed  sufficient  light  at  intervals  to  enable 
the  Scots  to  file  through  the  gaps  made  in  our  wire 
and  to  form  up  on  the  tapes  laid  outside.  At  11  p.m. 
the  7th  Scottish  Rifles  stormed  Umbrella  Hill  with 
the  greatest  gallantry.  The  first  wave  of  some  sixty- 
five  officers  and  men  was  blown  up  by  four  large 
contact  mines  and  entirely  destroyed.  The  second 
wave  passed  over  the  bodies  of  their  comrades  without 
a  moment's  check  and,  moving  through  the  wire 
smashed  by  our  artillery,  entered  Umbrella  Hill 
trenches  and  set  about  the  Turks  with  their  ba.yonets. 
They  had  to  clear  a  maze  of  trenches  and  dug-outs, 
but  they  bombed  out  of  existence  the  machine- 
gunners  opposing  them  and  had  settled  the  possession 
of  Umbrella  Hill  in  half  an  hour. 

The  4th  Royal  Scots  led  the  attack  on  El  Arish 
Redoubt.  It  was  a  bigger  and  noisier  '  show  '  than 
the  Royal  Scots  had  had  some  months  before,  when 
in  a  '  silent '  raid  they  killed  with  hatchets  only,  for 
the  Scots  had  seen  the  condition  of  some  of  their  dead 
left  in  Turkish  hands  and  were  taking  retribution. 
Not  many  Turks  in  El  Arish  Redoubt  lived  to  relate 
that  night's  story.  The  Scots  were  rapidly  in  the 
redoubt  and  were  rapidly  through  it,  cleared  up  a 
nasty  corner  known  as  the  '  Little  Devil,'  and  were 
just  about  to  shelter  from  the  shells  which  were  to 


78  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

answer  their  attack  when  they  caught  a  brisk  fire  from 
a  Bedouin  hut.  A  phitoon  leader  disposed  his  men 
cleverly  and  rushed  the  hut,  killing  everybody  in  it 
and  capturing  two  machine  guns.  The  vigorous 
resistance  of  the  Turks  on  Umbrella  Hill  and  El  Arish 
Redoubt  resulted  hi  our  having  to  bury  over  350 
enemy  dead  in  these  positions. 

The  second  phase  was  to  attack  the  enemy's  front- 
line system  from  El  Aiish  Redoubt  to  the  sea  at  Sea 
Post.  At  3  A.M.,  after  the  enemy  guns  had  plentifully 
sprinkled  Umbrella  Hill  and  had  given  it  up  as 
irretrievably  lost,  we  opened  a  ten-minutes'  intense 
bombardment  of  the  front  line,  exactly  as  had  been 
done  on  preceding  mornings,  but  this  time  the  161st 
and  162nd  Infantry  Brigades  followed  up  our  shells 
and  carried  3000  yards  of  trenches  at  once.  Three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  afterwards  the  163rd  Infantry 
Brigade  tried  to  get  the  support  trenches  several 
hundred  yards  in  rear,  but  the  difficulties  were  too 
many  and  the  effort  failed.  Having  secured  Sea 
Post  and  Beach  Post  the  162nd  Brigade  completed 
the  programme  by  advancing  up  the  coast  and  cap- 
turing the  '  port '  of  Gaza,  Sheikh  Hasan,  with  a 
considerable  body  of  prisoners. 

The  enemy's  guns  remained  active  until  seven 
o'clock,  when  they  reserved  their  fire  tiU  the  afternoon. 
Then  a  heavy  counter-attack  was  seen  to  be  develop- 
ing by  an  aerial  observer,  whose  timely  warning 
enabled  the  big  guns  and  warships  to  smash  it  up. 
Another  counter-attack  against  Sheikh  Hasan  was 
repulsed  later  in  the  day,  and  a  third  starting  from 
Crested  Rock  which  aimed  at  getting  back  El  Burj 
trench  was  a  complete  failure.  After  the  second 
phase  our  troops  buried  739  enemy  dead.  Without 
doubt  there  were  many  others  killed  and  wounded 
in  the  unsuccessful  comiter-attacks,  particularly  the 


BEERSHEBA  RAILWAY  S'lA HUN  \\]  TH   MINKIJ  ROLLING  SIOCK 


GAZA  DEFENCES  79 

first  against  Sheikli  Hasan,  when  many  heavy  shells 
were  seen  to  fall  in  the  enemy's  ranks.  We  took 
prisoners  26  officers,  including  two  battalion  com- 
manders, and  418  other  ranks.  Our  casualties  were 
30  officers  and  331  other  ranks  killed,  94  officers  and 
1869  other  ranks  wounded,  and  10  officers  and  362 
other  ranks  missing.  Considering  the  enormous 
strength  of  the  positions  attacked,  the  numbers 
engaged,  and  the  fact  that  we  secured  enemy  front 
5000  yards  long  and  3000  yards  deep,  the  losses  were 
not  more  severe  than  might  have  been  expected. 

The  Turks  clung  to  their  trenches  with  a  tenacity 
equal  to  that  which  characterised  their  defences  on 
Gallipoli,  and  officer  prisoners  told  us  they  had  been 
ordered  to  hold  Gaza  at  all  costs.  That  was  good 
news,  though  even  if  they  had  got  back  to  the  wadi 
Hesi  line  it  is  doubtful  if,  when  Sheria  was  taken, 
they  could  have  done  more  than  temporarily  hold  us 
up  there.  During  the  next  few  days  the  work  against 
the  enemy's  right  consisted  of  heavy  bombardments 
on  the  Hne  of  hills  running  from  the  north-east  to  the 
south  of  Gaza,  and  on  the  prominent  position  of 
Sheikh  Redwan,  east  of  the  port.  The  enemy  made 
some  spirited  replies,  notably  on  the  4th,  but  his  force 
in  Gaza  was  getting  shaken,  and  prisoners  reluctantly 
admitted  that  the  heavy  naval  shells  taking  them  in 
flank  and  rear  were  affecting  the  moral  of  the  troops. 
The  gunfire  of  Rear- Admiral  Jackson's  fleet  of  H.M.S. 
Grafton,  Raglan,  Monitors  15,  29,  31,  and  32,  river- 
gunboats  Ladybird  and  Amphis,  and  the  destroyers 
Staunch  and  Comet,  was  worthy  of  the  King's  Navy. 
They  were  assisted  by  the  French  battleship  Eequin, 
We  lost  a  monitor  and  destroyer  torpedoed  by  a 
submarine,  but  the  marks  of  the  Navy's  hard  hitting 
were  on  and  about  Gaza,  and  we  heard,  if  we  could 
not  see,  the  best  the  ships  were  doing.     On  one  day 


80  HOW  JERUSALEIM  WAS  WON 

there  was  a  number  of  explotsions  about  Deir  Shield 
indicating  the  destruction  of  some  of  the  enemy's 
reserve  of  ammunition,  and  while  the  Turks  were 
still  in  Gaza  they  received  a  shock  resembling  nothing 
more  than  an  earthquake.     One  of  the  ships — the 
Raglan,  I  believe — takmg  a  signal  from  a  seaplane,  got 
a  direct  hit  on  an  ammunition  train  at  Beit  Hanun, 
the   railway   terminus  north   of   Gaza.     The   whole 
train  went  up  and  its  load  was  scattered  in  fragments 
over  an  area  of  several  hundred  square  yards,  an 
extraordinary  scene  of  wreckage  of  torn  and  twisted 
railway  material  and  destroyed  ammunition  present- 
ing itself  to  us  when  we  got  on  the  spot  on  Novem- 
ber   7.     There   was   another   very   fine   example   of 
the  Navy's  indirect  fire  a  short  distance  northward 
of  this  railway  station.     A  stone  road  bridge  had 
been  built  over  the  wadi  Hesi  and  it  had  to  carry  all 
heavy  traffic,  the  banks  of  the  wadi  being  too  steep 
and  broken  to  permit  wheels  passing  down  them  as 
they  stood.     During  our  advance  the  engineers  had 
to  build  ramps  here.     A  warship,  taking  its  line  from 
an  aeroplane,  fired  at  the  bridge  from  a  range  of  14,000 
yards,  got  two  direct  hits  on  it  and  holed  it  in  the 
centre,  and  there  must  have  been  thirty  or  forty 
shell  craters  within   a  radius  of  fifty  yards.     The 
confounding  of  the  Turks  was  ably  assisted  by  the 
Navy. 


JHAPTER  IX 

CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT 

Now  we  return  to  the  operations  of  XXth  Corps  and 
Desert  Mounted  Corps  on  our  right.  After  the 
capture  of  Beersheba  this  force  was  preparing  to 
attack  the  left  of  the  Turkish  main  hne  about  Hareira 
and  Sheria,  the  capture  of  which  would  enable  the 
fine  force  of  cavalry  to  get  to  Nejile  and  gain  an 
excellent  water  supply,  to  advance  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Huj  and  so  reach  the  plain  and  threaten  the 
enemy's  line  in  rear,  and  to  fall  on  his  line  of  retreat. 
It  was  proposed  to  make  the  attack  on  the  Kauwukah 
and  Rushdi  systems  at  Hareira  on  November  4,  but 
the  water  available  at  Beersheba  had  not  been  equal 
to  the  demands  made  upon  it  and  was  petering  out, 
and  mounted  troops  protecting  the  right  flank  of 
XXth  Corps  had  to  be  reUeved  every  twenty-four 
hours.  The  men  also  suffered  a  good  deal  from  thirst. 
The  weather  was  unusually  hot  for  this  period  of  the 
year,  and  the  dust  churned  up  by  traffic  was  as 
irritating  as  when  the  khamseen  wind  blew.  The 
two  days'  delay  meant  much  in  favour  of  the  enemy, 
who  was  enabled  to  move  his  troops  as  he  desired, 
but  it  also  permitted  our  infantry  to  get  some  rest 
after  their  long  marches,  and  supplies  were  brought 
nearer  the  front.  '  Rest '  was  only  a  comparative 
term.  Brigades  were  on  the  move  each  day  in  country 
which  was  one  continual  rise  and  fall,  with  stony  beds 
of  wadis  to  check  progress,  without  a  tree  to  lend  a 
few  moments'  grateful  relief  from  a  burning  sun,  and 


82  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

nothing  but  the  rare  sight  of  a  squahd  native  hut  to 
reheve  the  monotony  of  a  sun-dried  desolate  land. 

The  troops  were  remarkably  cheerful.  They  were 
on  their  toes,  as  the  cavalry  told  them.  They  had 
drawn  first  blood  profusely  from  the  Turk  after  many 
weary  months  of  waiting  and  getting  fit,  and  they 
knew  that  those  gaunt  mountain  ridges  away  on 
their  right  front  held  behind  them  Bethlehem  and 
Jerusalem,  goals  they  desired  to  reach  more  than  any 
other  prizes  of  war.  They  had  seen  the  Turk,  and 
had  soundly  thrashed  him  out  of  trenches  which  the 
British  could  have  held  against  a  much  stronger 
force.  Their  confidence  was  based  on  the  proof  that 
they  were  better  men,  and  they  were  convinced  that 
once  they  got  the  enemy  into  the  open  their  superi- 
ority would  be  still  more  marked.  The  events  of  the 
next  six  weeks  showed  their  estimate  of  the  Turkish 
soldier  was  justified. 

The  53rd  Division  with  the  Imperial  Camel  Corps  on 
its  right  moved  to  Towal  Abu  Jerwal  on  November  1 
to  protect  the  flank  guard  of  the  XXth  Corps  during 
the  pending  attack  on  the  Kauwukah  system.  The 
infantry  had  some  fighting  on  that  day,  but  it  was 
mild  compared  with  the  strenuous  days  before  them. 
The  10th  Division  attacked  Irgeig  railway  station 
north-west  of  Beersheba  and  secured  it,  and  waited 
there  with  the  74th  Division  on  its  right  while  the 
Welsh  Division  went  forward  to  fight  for  lOiuweilfeh 
on  November  3.  The  Welshmen  could  not  obtain  the 
whole  of  the  position  on  that  day,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  6th  that  it  became  theirs.  Khuweilfeh  is  about 
ten  miles  due  east  of  Sheria,  the  same  distance  north 
of  Beersheba,  and  some  five  miles  west  of  the  Hebron 
road.  It  is  in  the  hill  country,  difficult  to  approach, 
with  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  road  or  track  leading 
to  it,  and  there  was  no  element  in  the  position  to 


CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         83 

suggest  the  prospect  of  an  easy  capture.  When 
General  Mott  advanced  to  these  forbidding  heights 
the  strength  of  the  enemy  in  these  parts  was  not 
reahsed.  Prisoners  taken  during  the  day  proved 
that  there  were  portions  of  three  or  four  Turkish 
divisions  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  the  strong  efforts 
made  to  prevent  the  Welsh  troops  gaining  the  position 
and  the  furious  attempts  to  drive  them  out  of  it 
suggested  that  most  of  the  Turkish  reserves  had  been 
brought  over  to  their  left  flank  to  guard  against  a  wide 
movement  intended  to  envelop  it.  It  afterwards 
turned  out  that  von  Kressenstein  believed  General 
AUenby  intended  to  march  on  Jerusalem  up  the 
Hebron  road,  and  he  threw  over  to  his  left  all  his 
reserves  to  stop  us.  That  was  a  supreme  mistake,  for 
when  we  had  broken  through  at  Hstreira  and  Sheria 
the  two  wings  of  his  Army  were  never  in  contact,  and 
their  only  means  of  communication  was  by  aeroplane. 

The  magnificent  fight  the  53rd  Division  put  up  at 
Khuweilfeh  against  vastly  superior  forces  and  in  the 
face  of  heavy  casualties  played  a  very  important  part 
in  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the  Turks.  For  four 
days  and  nights  the  Welsh  Division  fought  without 
respite  and  with  the  knowledge  that  they  could  not 
be  substantially  reinforced,  since  the  plan  for  the 
attack  on  Hareira  and  Sheria  entailed  the  employ- 
ment of  all  the  available  infantry  of  XXth  Corps. 
Attack  after  attack  was  launched  against  them  with 
extreme  violence  and  great  gallantry,  their  positions 
were  raked  by  gunfire,  whilst  water  and  supplies  were 
not  over  plentiful.  But  the  staunch  Division  held  on 
grimly  to  what  it  had  gained,  and  its  tenacity  was 
well  rewarded  by  what  was  won  on  other  portions 
of  the  field. 

During  the  night  of  November  5-6  and  the  day  of 
the  6th,  the  74th,  60th,  and  10th  Divisions  concen- 


84  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

trated  for  the  attack  on  the  Kauwukah  system.     The 
enemy's  positions  ran  from  his  Jerusalem-Beersheba 
railway  about  five  miles  south-east  of  Hareira,  across 
the  Gaza-Beersheba  road  to  the  wadi  Sheria,  on  the 
northern  bank  of  which  was  an  exceedingly  strong 
redoubt  covering  Hareira.     The  eastern  portion  of 
this  line  was  known  as  the  Kauwukah  system,  and 
between  it  and  Hareira  was  the  Rushdi  system,  all 
being    connected    up    by    long   communication    and 
support  trenches,  while  a  light  railway  ran  from  the 
Rushdi    line    to    dumps    south    of    Sheria.     At    the 
moment  of  assembly  for  attack  our  line  from  right 
to  left  was  made  up  as  follows  :  the  158th  Infantry 
Brigade  was  on  the  right,  south  of  Tel  Khuweilfeh. 
Then  came  the  160th  Brigade  and  159th  Brigade. 
The  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  held  a  long  line 
of  comitry  and  was  the  connecting  link  between  the 
53rd  and  74th  Divisions.     The  latter  division  disposed 
from  right  to  left  the  231st  Brigade,  the  229th  Brigade, 
and  230th  Brigade,  who  were  to  march  from  the  south- 
east to  the  north-west  to  attack  the  right  of  the  Kau- 
wukah   system   of   entrenchments   on   the   railway. 
The  181st  Brigade,  180th  Brigade,  and  179th  Brigade 
of  the  60th  Division  were  to  march  in  the  same 
direction  to  attack  the  next  portion  of  the  system  on 
the  left  of  the  74th  Division's  objectives,  then  swing- 
ing  to   the   north   to   march   on   Sheria.     The   31st 
Brigade,  30th  Brigade,   and   29th   Brigade   were   to 
operate  on  the  60th  Division's  left,  with  the  Aus- 
tralian Mounted  Division  watching  the  left  flank  of 
XXth  Corps.     The   Turkish   Vllth  Army   and   3rd 
Cavalry   Division  were  opposing  the   XXth   Corps, 
another   Division   was   opposite    the   53rd   Division 
and  the  Imperial  Camel  Corps  with  the  12th  Depot 
Regiment  at  Dharahiyeh  on  the  Hebron  road,  the 
16th  Division  opposite  our  74th,  the  24th  and  26th 


CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         85 

Divisions  opposite  our  69th,  and  the  54th  against 
the  10th  Division.  Tlie  3rd,  53rd,  and  7th  Turkish 
Divisions  were  in  the  Gaza  area. 

At  daybreak  the  troops  advanced  to  the  attack. 
The  first  part  of  the  Hne  in  front  of  the  231st  Brigade 
was  a  serious  obstacle.  Two  or  three  small  outlying 
rifle  pits  had  to  be  taken  before  the  Division  could 
proceed  with  its  effort  to  drive  the  enemy  out  of 
Sheria  and  protect  the  flank  of  the  60th  Division, 
which  had  to  cross  the  railway  where  a  double  line 
of  trenches  was  to  be  tackled,  the  rear  line  above  the 
other  with  the  flank  well  thrown  back  and  protected 
by  small  advanced  pits  to  hold  a  few  men  and 
machine  guns.  The  Turks  held  on  very  obstinately 
to  their  ground  east  of  the  railway,  and  kept  the 
74th  Division  at  bay  till  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
but  the  artillery  of  that  Division  had  for  some  time 
been  assisting  in  the  wire-cutting  in  front  of  the 
trenches  to  be  assaulted  by  the  60th  Division,  and 
the  latter  went  ahead  soon  after  noon,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  one  brigade  of  the  10th  Division,  had 
won  about  4000  yards  of  the  complicated  trench 
system  and  most  of  the  Rushdi  system  by  half-past 
two.  The  Londoners  then  swung  to  the  north  and 
occupied  the  station  at  Sheria,  while  the  dismounted 
yeomanry  worked  round  farther  east,  taking  a  series 
of  isolated  trenches  on  the  way,  the  Irish  troops  re- 
lieving the  60th  in  the  captured  trenches  at  Kauwukah. 
The  60th  Division,  having  possession  of  the  larger 
part  of  Sheria,  intended  to  attack  the  hill  there  at 
nightfall,  and  the  attack  was  in  preparation  when  an 
enemy  dump  exploded  and  a  huge  fire  lighted  up  the 
whole  district,  so  that  all  troops  would  have  been 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  garrison  on  the  hill.  General 
Shea  therefore  stopped  the  attack,  but  the  hill  was 
stormed  at  4.30  next  morning  and  carried  at  the  point 


86  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  the  bayonet.  A  bridgehead  was  then  formed  at 
Sheria,  and  the  Londoners  fought  all  day  and  stopped 
one  counter-attack  when  it  was  within  200  yards  of 
our  line.  On  that  same  morning  the  Irish  troops 
had  extended  then'  gains  westwards  from  the  Rushdi 
system  till  they  got  to  Hareira  Tepe  Redoubt,  a  high 
mound  500  yards  across  the  top,  which  had  been 
criss-crossed  w4th  trenches  with  wire  hanging  about 
some  broken  ground  at  the  bottom.  Here  there  was 
a  hot  tussle,  but  the  Irishmen  valiantly  pushed 
through  and  not  only  gave  XXth  Corps  the  whole  of 
its  objectives  and  completed  the  turn  of  the  enemy's 
left  flank,  but  joined  up  wdth  the  XXIst  Corps.  The 
workmg  of  XXth  Corps'  scheme  had  again  been 
admirable,  and  once  more  the  staff  work  had  enabled 
the  movements  to  be  timed  perfectly. 

The  Desert  Mounted  Corps  was  thus  able  to  draw 
up  to  Sheria  in  readiness  to  take  up  the  pursuit  and 
to  get  the  water  supply  at  Nejile.     This  ended  the 
XXth  Corps'  task  for  a  few  days,  though  the  60th 
Division    became    temporarily    attached    to    Desert 
Moimted  Corps.    XXth  Corps  had  nobly  done  its  part. 
The  consummate  ability,  energy,  and  foresight  of  the 
corps  commander  had  been    supported   throughout 
by  the  skill  of  divisional  and  brigade  commanders. 
For  the  men  no  praise  could  be  too  high.     The  atten- 
tion given  to  their  training  was  well  repaid.     They 
bore  the  strain  of  long  marches  on  hard  food  and  a 
small  allowance  of  water  in  a  way  that  proved  their 
physique  to  be  only  matched  by  their  courage,  and 
that   was   of   a   high   order.     Their   discipline   was 
admirable,  their  determination  alike  in  attack  and 
defence  strong  and  well  sustained.     To  say  they  were 
equal  to  the  finest  troops  in  the  world  might  lay  one 
open  to  a  charge  of  exaggeration  when  it  was  im- 
possible to  get  a  fair  ground  of  comparison,  seeing 


CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         87 

the  conditions  of  fighting  on  different  fronts  was  so 
varied,  but  the  trials  through  which  the  troops  of 
XXth  Corps  passed  up  to  the  end  of  the  first  week  of 
November,  and  their  magnificent  accompHshments 
by  the  end  of  the  year,  make  me  doubt  whether  any 
other  corps  possessed  finer  soldierly  qualities.  The 
men  were  indeed  splendid.  The  casualties  sustained 
by  the  XXth  Corps  from  October  31  to  Novem- 
ber 16  were  :  killed,  officers  63,  other  ranks  869  ; 
wounded,  officers  198,  other  ranks  4246  ;  missing, 
no  officers,  108  other  ranks — a  total  of  261  officers 
and  5223  other  ranks. 

During  the  period  after  Beersheba  when  the  XXth 
Corps  troops  were  concentrating  to  break  up  the 
Turks'  defensive  position  on  the  left,  the  Desert 
Mounted  Corps  was  busily  engaged  holding  a  line 
eight  or  ten  miles  north  and  north-east  of  Beersheba, 
and  watching  for  any  movement  of  troops  down  the 
Hebron  road.  The  2nd  Australian  Light  Horse 
Brigade  and  7th  Mounted  Brigade  tried  to  occupy 
a  line  from  KhuweiHeh  to  Dharahiyeh,  but  it  was 
not  possible  to  reach  it — a  fact  by  no  means  surpris- 
ing, as  in  the  light  of  subsequent  knowledge  it  was 
clear  that  the  Turks  had  put  much  of  their  strength 
there.  A  patrol  of  Light  Horsemen  managed  to  work 
round  to  the  north  of  Dharahiyeh,  a  curious  group 
of  mud  houses  on  a  hill-top  inhabited  by  natives  who 
have  yet  to  appreciate  the  evils  of  grossly  overcrowded 
quarters  as  well  as  some  of  the  elementary  principles 
of  sanitation,  and  they  saw  a  number  of  motor  lorries 
come  up  the  admirably  constructed  hill  road  designed 
by  German  engineers.  The  lorries  were  hurrying  from 
the  Jerusalem  area  with  reinforcements.  Prisoners 
— several  hundreds  of  them  in  all — ^were  brought  in 
daily,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  force  the  enemy 
back  until  November  6,  when  the  53rd  Division, 


88  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

which  for  the  time  being  was  attached  to  the  Desert 
Mounted  Corps,  drove  the  Turks  off  the  whole  of 
Khuweilfeh,  behaving  as  I  have  ah-eady  said  with 
fine  gallantr}/  and  inflicting  severe  losses.  There 
were  also  counter-attacks  launched  against  the  5th 
Mounted  Brigade,  the  New  Zealand  Mounted  Rifles 
Brigade,  and  the  Imperial  Camel  Corps  Brigade,  but 
these  were  likewise  beaten  off  with  considerable 
casualties  to  the  enemy.  When  the  XXth  Corps 
had  captured  the  Khauwukah  system,  a  detachment 
for  the  defence  of  the  right  flank  of  the  Army  was 
formed  under  the  command  of  Major-General  G.  de  S. 
Barrow,  the  G.O.C.  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division, 
consisting  of  the  Imperial  Camel  Corps  Brigade,  53rd 
Division,  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division,  New  Zealand 
Mounted  Rifles  Brigade,  and  two  squadrons  and  eight 
machine  guns  of  the  2nd  Australian  Light  Horse 
Brigade.  The  Australian  Mounted  Division  marched 
from  Karm,  whither  it  had  been  sent  on  account  of 
water  difficulties,  to  rejoin  Desert  Mounted  Corps  to 
whom  the  60th  Division  was  temporarily  attached. 
The  Desert  Corps  had  orders  on  November  7  to  push 
through  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  line  wadi  Jem- 
mameh-Huj,  and  from  that  day  the  Corps  commenced 
its  long  march  to  Jaffa,  a  march  which,  though 
strongly  opposed  by  considerable  bodies  of  troops, 
was  more  often  interfered  with  by  lack  of  water  than 
by  difficulty  in  defeating  the  enemy. 

The  scarcity  of  water  was  a  sore  trouble.  There 
was  an  occasional  pool  here  and  there,  but  generally 
the  only  water  procurable  was  in  deep  wells  giving 
a  poor  yield.  The  cavalry  will  not  forget  that  long 
trek.  No  brigade  could  march  straight  ahead. 
Those  operating  in  the  foothills  on  our  right  had  to 
fight  all  the  way,  and  they  were  often  called  upon  to 
resist  counter-attacks  by  strong  rearguards  issuing 


CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         89 

from  the  hills  to  threaten  the  flank  and  so  delay  the 
advance  in  order  to  permit  the  Turks  to  carry  off 
some  of  their  material.  It  was  necessary  almost 
every  day  to  withdraw  certain  formations  from  the 
front  and  send  them  back  a  considerable  distance  to 
water,  replacing  them  by  other  troops  coming  from 
a  well  centre.  In  this  way  brigades  were  not  in- 
frequently attached  to  divisions  other  than  their 
own,  and  the  administrative  services  were  heavily 
handicapped.  Several  times  whole  brigades  were 
without  water  for  forty-eight  hours,  and  though 
supplies  reached  them  on  all  but  one  or  two  occasions 
they  were  often  late,  and  an  exceedingly  severe  strain 
was  put  on  the  transport.  During  that  diagonal 
march  across  the  Maritime  Plain  I  heard  infantry 
ofi&cers  remark  that  the  Australians  always  seemed 
to  have  their  supplies  up  with  them.  I  do  not  think 
the  supphes  were  always  there,  but  they  generally 
were  not  far  behind,  and  if  resource  and  energy  could 
work  miracles  the  Australian  supply  officers  deserve 
the  credit  for  them.  The  divisional  trains  worked 
hard  in  those  strenuous  days,  and  the  '  Q  '  staff  of 
the  Desert  Mounted  Corps  had  many  a  sleepless  night 
devising  plans  to  get  that  last  ounce  out  of  their  trans- 
port men  and  to  get  that  Httle  extra  amount  of  sup- 
plies to  the  front  which  meant  the  difference  between 
want  and  a  sufficiency  for  man  and  horse. 

On  the  7th  November  the  60th  Division  after  its 
spirited  attack  on  Tel  el  Sheria  crossed  the  wadi  and 
advanced  north  about  two  miles,  fighting  obstinate 
rearguards  all  the  way.  The  1st  Australian  Light 
Horse  took  300  prisoners  and  a  considerable  quantity 
of  ammunition  and  stores  at  Ameidat,  and  with  the 
remainder  of  the  Anzac  Division  reached  Tel  Abu 
Dilakh  by  the  evening,  and  the  Australian  Mounted 
Division  filled  the  gap  between  the  Anzacs  and  the 


90  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Londoners,  but  having  been  unable  to  water  could 
not  advance  further.  The  8th  November  was  a  busy 
and  brilliantly  successful  day.  The  Corps'  effort  was 
to  make  a  wide  sweeping  movement  in  order  first  to 
obtain  the  valuable  and  urgently  required  water  at 
Nejile,  and  then  to  push  across  the  hills  and  rolling 
downs  to  the  country  behind  Gaza  to  harass  the 
enemy  retreating  from  that  town.  The  Turks  had 
a  big  rearguard  south-west  of  Nejile  and  made  a 
strong  effort  to  delay  the  capture  of  that  place,  the 
importance  of  which  to  us  they  realised  to  the  full, 
and  they  were  prepared  to  sacrifice  the  whole  of  the 
rearguard  if  they  could  hold  us  off  the  water  for 
another  twenty-four  hours.  The  pressure  of  the 
Anzac  Division  and  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade  as- 
sisting it  was  too  much  for  the  enemy,  who  though 
holding  on  to  the  hills  very  stoutly  till  the  last  moment 
had  to  give  way  and  leave  the  water  in  our  undisputed 
possession.  The  Sherwood  Rangers  and  South  Notts 
Hussars  were  vigorously  counter-attacked  at  Mud- 
weiweh,  but  they  severely  handled  the  enemy,  who 
retired  a  much  weakened  body. 

By  the  evening  the  Anzacs  held  the  country  from 
Nejile  to  the  north  bank  of  the  wadi  Jemmameh, 
having  captured  300  prisoners  and  two  guns.  The 
Australian  Mounted  Division  made  an  excellent  ad- 
vance round  the  north  side  of  Huj,  which  had  been 
the  Turkish  Vlllth  Army  Headquarters,  and  the  4th 
Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  was  in  touch  with 
the  corps  cavalry  of  XXIst  Corps  at  Beit  Hanun, 
while  the  3rd  Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  had 
taken  prisoners  and  two  of  the  troublesome  Austrian 
5-9  howitzers. 

It  was  the  work  of  the  60th  Division  in  the  centre, 
however,  which  was  the  outstanding  feature  of  the 
day,  though  the  Londoners  readily  admitted  that 


CEUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         91 

without  the  glorious  charge  of  the  Worcester  and 
Warwickshire  Yeomanry  in  the  afternoon  they  would 
not  have  been  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Huj  when 
darkness  fell.  The  60th  were  in  the  centre,  sand- 
wiched between  the  Anzacs  and  Australian  Mounted 
Division,  and  their  allotted  task  was  to  clear  the 
country  between  Sheria  and  Huj,  a  distance  of  ten 
miles.  The  country  was  a  series  of  billowy  downs 
with  valleys  seldom  more  than  1000  yards  wide,  and 
every  yard  of  the  way  was  opposed  by  infantry  and 
artillery.  Considering  the  opposition  the  progress 
was  good.  The  Londoners  drove  in  the  Turks'  strong 
flank  three  times,  first  from  the  hill  of  Zuheilika,  then 
from  the  cultivated  area  behind  it,  and  thirdly  from 
the  wadi-torn  district  of  Muntaret  el  Baghl,  from 
which  the  infantry  proceeded  to  the  high  ground  to 
the  north.  It  was  then  between  two  and  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  maps  showed  that  between  the 
Division  and  Huj  there  was  nearly  four  miles  of  most 
difficult  country,  a  mass  of  wadi  beds  and  hills  giving 
an  enterprising  enemy  the  best  possible  means  for 
holding  up  an  advance.  General  Shea  went  ahead 
in  a  light  armoured  car  to  reconnoitre,  and  saw  a 
strong  body  of  Turks  with  guns  marching  across  his 
front.  It  was  impossible  for  his  infantry  to  catch 
them  and,  seeing  ten  troops  of  Warwick  and  Wor- 
cester Yeomanry  on  his  right  about  a  mile  away, 
he  went  over  to  them  and  ordered  Lieut. -Colonel 
H.  Cheape  to  charge  the  enemy.  It  was  a  case  for 
instant  action.  The  enemy  were  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  our  cavalry.  The  gunners  had  come  into  action 
and  were  shelling  the  London  Territorials,  but  they 
soon  had  to  switch  off  and  fire  at  a  more  terrifying 
target.  Led  by  their  gallant  Colonel,  a  Master  of 
Foxhounds  who  was  afterwards  drowned  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  yeomen  swept  over  a  ridge  in  successive 


92  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

lines  and  raced  down  the  northern  slope  on  to  the 
flat,  at  first  making  direct  for  the  guns,  then  swerving 
to  the  left  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Cheape, 
whose  eye  for  country  led  him  to  take  advantage  of  a 
mound  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  Over  this 
rise  the  Midland  yeomen  spurred  their  chargers  and, 
giving  full-throated  cheers,  dashed  through  the  Turks' 
left  flank  guard  and  went  straight  for  the  guns. 
Their  ranks  were  somewhat  thinned,  for  they  had 
been  exposed  to  a  heavy  machine-gun  fire  as  w^ell  as 
to  the  fire  of  eight  field  guns  and  three  5*9  howitzers 
worked  at  the  highest  pressure.  The  gunners  were 
nearly  all  Germans  and  Austrians  and  they  fought 
well.  They  splashed  the  valley  with  shrapnel,  and 
during  the  few  moments'  lull  when  the  yeomam-y  were 
lost  to  view  behind  the  mound  they  set  their  shell 
fuses  at  zero  to  make  them  burst  at  the  mouth  of  the 
guns  and  act  as  case  shot.  They  tore  some  gaps  in 
the  yeomen's  ranks,  but  nothing  could  stop  that 
charge.  Tlie  Midlanders  rode  straight  at  the  guns 
and  sabred  every  artilleryman  at  his  piece.  The 
Londoners  say  they  heard  all  the  guns  stop  dead  at 
the  same  moment  and  they  knew  they  had  been 
silenced  in  true  Balaclava  style.  Having  wiped  out 
the  batteries  the  yeomen  again  answered  the  call  of 
their  leader  and  swept  up  a  ridge  to  deal  efiectively 
with  three  machine  guns,  and  having  used  the  white 
arm  against  their  crews  the  guns  were  turned  on  to 
the  retreating  Turks  and  decimated  their  ranks.  This 
charge  was  witnessed  by  General  Shea,  and  I  know 
it  is  his  opinion  that  it  was  executed  with  the  greatest 
gallantry  and  elan,  and  was  worthy  of  the  best  tradi- 
tions of  British  cavalry.  The  yeomanry  lost  about 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  their  number  in  casualties, 
but  their  action  was  worth  the  price,  for  they  com- 
pletely broke  up  the  enemy  resistance  and  enabled 


CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         93 

the  London  Division  to  push  straight  through  to  Huj. 
The  Warwick  and  Worcester  Yeomanry  received  the 
personal  congratulations  of  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
and  General  Shea  was  also  thanked  by  General 
Allenby. 

During  this  day  General  Shea  accompUshed  what 
probably  no  other  Divisional  Commander  did  in  this 
war.  When  out  scouting  in  a  light  armoured  car  he 
was  within  500  yards  of  a  big  ammunition  dump 
which  was  blown  up.  He  saw  the  three  men  who  had 
destroyed  it  running  away,  and  he  chased  them  into 
a  wadi  and  machine-guimed  them.  They  held  up 
their  hands  and  were  astonished  to  find  they  had 
surrendered  to  a  General.  These  men  were  captured 
in  the  nick  of  time.  But  for  the  appearance  of 
General  Shea  they  would  have  destroyed  another 
dump,  which  we  captured  intact. 

I  was  with  the  Division  the  night  after  they  had 
taken  Huj.  It  was  their  first  day  of  rest  for  some 
time,  but  the  men  showed  few  signs  of  fatigue.  No 
one  could  move  among  them  without  being  proud 
of  the  Londoners.  They  were  strong,  self-reliant, 
weU-disciplined,  brave  fellows.  I  well  remember 
what  Colonel  Temperley,  the  G.S.O.  of  the  Division, 
told  me  when  sitting  out  on  a  hill  in  the  twilight 
that  night.  Colonel  Temperley  had  been  brigade 
major  of  the  first  New  Zealand  Infantry  Brigade 
which  came  to  Egypt  and  took  a  full  share  in  the 
work  on  Gallipoli  on  its  way  to  France.  He  had 
over  two  years  of  active  service  on  the  Western  Front 
before  coming  out  to  Palestine  for  duty  with  the 
60th  Division,  and  his  views  on  men  in  action  were 
based  on  the  sound  experience  of  the  professional 
soldier.  Of  the  London  County  Territorials  he  said  : 
'  I  cannot  speak  of  these  warriors  without  a  lump 
rising  in  my  throat.     These  Cockneys  are  the  best 


94  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

men  in  the  world.  Their  spirits  are  simply  wonder- 
ful, and  I  do  not  think  any  division  ever  went  into 
a  big  show  with  higher  moral.  After  three  years  of 
war  it  is  refreshing  to  hear  the  men's  earnestly  ex- 
pressed desire  to  go  into  action  again.  These  grand 
fellows  went  forward  with  the  full  bloom  on  them, 
there  never  was  any  hesitation,  their  discipline  was 
absolutely  perfect,  their  physique  and  courage  were 
alike  magnificent,  and  their  valour  beyond  words. 
The  Cockney  makes  the  perfect  soldier.'  I  wrote 
at  the  time  that  '  whether  the  men  came  from 
Bermondsey,  Camberwell  or  Keimington,  or  be- 
longed to  what  were  known  as  class  corps,  such  as 
the  Civil  Service  or  Kensingtons,  before  the  war,  all 
battahons  were  equally  good.  They  were  trained 
for  months  for  the  big  battle  till  their  bodies  were 
brought  to  such  a  state  of  fitness  that  Spartan  fare 
durmg  the  ten  days  of  ceaseless  action  caused  neither 
grumble  nor  fatigue.  The  men  may  well  be  re- 
warded with  the  title  "London's  Pride,"  and  London 
is  honoured  by  having  such  stalwarts  to  represent 
the  heart  of  the  British  Empire.  In  eight  days  the 
Londoners  marched  sixty-six  miles  and  fought  a 
number  of  hot  actions.  The  march  may  not  seem 
long,  but  Palestine  is  not  Salisbury  Plain.  A  leg- 
weary  man  was  asked  by  an  officer  if  his  feet  were 
bhstered,  and  replied  :  *'They  're  rotten  sore,  but  my 
heart 's  gay."  That  is  typical  of  the  spirit  of  these 
unconquerable  Cockneys.  I  have  just  left  them. 
They  still  have  the  bloom  of  freshness  and  I  do  not 
think  it  will  ever  fade.  Scorching  winds  which  parched 
the  throat  and  made  everything  one  wore  hot  to  the 
touch  were  enough  to  oppress  the  staunchest  soldier, 
but  these  sterhng  Territorials,  costers  and  labourers, 
artisans  and  tradesmen,  professional  men  and  men 
of  independent  means,   true  brothers  in  arms  and 


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CRUSHING  THE  TURKISH  LEFT         95 

good  Britons,  left  their  bivouacs  and  trudged  across 
heavy  country,  fearless,  strong,  proud,  and  with  the 
cheerfulness  of  good  men  who  fight  for  right.'  What 
I  said  in  those  early  days  of  the  great  advance  was 
more  than  borne  out  later,  and  in  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem,  in  taking  Jericho,  and  in  forcing  the  passage 
of  the  Jordan  this  glorious  Division  of  Londoners 
was  always  the  same,  a  pride  to  its  commander,  a 
bulwark  of  the  XXth  Corps,  and  a  great  asset  of  the 
Empire. 


CHAPTER  X 

THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN 

On  the  Gaza  section  of  the  front  the  XXIst  Corps 
had  been  busily  occupied  with  preparations  for  a 
powerful  thrust  through  the  remainder  of  the  de- 
fences on  the  enemy's  right  when  the  XXth  Corps 
should  have  succeeded  in  turning  the  main  positions 
on  the  left.     The  52nd  Division  on  the  coast  was 
ready  to  go  ahead  immediately  there  was  any  sign 
that  the  enemy,  seeing  that  the  worst  was  about  to 
happen,    intended    to    order    a    general   retirement, 
and  then  it  would  be  a  race  and  a  fight  to  prevent 
his  estabhshing  himself  on  the  high  ground  north 
of  the  wadi  Hesi.     Should  he  fail  to  do  that  there 
was  scarcely  a  possibihty  of  the  Turks  holding  us 
up  till  we  got  to  the  Jaffa-Jerusalem  road,  though 
between    Gaza    and    that    metalled    highway    there 
were  many  points  of  strength  from  which  they  could 
fight  delaying  actions.     It  is  very  doubtful  whether 
the  Turkish  General  Staff  gave  the  cavalry  credit 
for  being  able  to  move  across  the  Plam  in  the  middle 
of   November   when   the   wadis   are   absolutely   dry 
and  the  water-level  in  the  wells  is  lower   than   at 
any  other  period  of  the  year.     Nor  did  they  imagine 
that  the  transport  difficulties  for  infantry    divisions 
fed  as  ours  were  could  be  surmounted.     They  may 
have  thought  that  if  they   could  secure  the  wadi 
Hesi  line  before  we  got  into  position  to  threaten  it 
in  flank  they  would  immobihse  our  Army  till  the 
rams  began,  and  there  was  a  possibihty  of  sitting 

96 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN       97 

facing  each  other  in  wet  uncomfortable  trench 
quarters  till  the  flowers  showed  themselves  in  the 
spring,  by  which  time,  the  Bagdad  venture  of  the 
German  Higher  Command  proving  hopeless  before  it 
was  started,  a  great  volume  of  reinforcements  might 
be  diverted  to  Southern  Palestine  with  Turkish 
divisions  from  the  Salonika  front  and  a  stiffening 
of  German  battalions  spared  from  Europe  in  con- 
sequence of  the  Russian  collapse. 

Whatever  they  may  have  been,  the  Turkish  cal- 
culations were  completely  upset.  The  cavalry's 
water  troubles  remained  and  no  human  foresight 
could  have  smoothed  them  over,  but  the  transport 
problem  was  solved  in  this  way.  During  the  attack 
on  Beersheba  XXIst  Corps  came  to  the  aid  of  XXth 
Corps  by  handing  over  to  it  the  greater  part  of  its 
camel  convoys  and  lorries,  so  much  transport,  in- 
deed, that  a  vast  amount  of  work  in  the  Gaza  sector 
fell  to  be  done  by  a  greatly  depleted  supply  staff. 
When  Beersheba  had  been  won  and  the  enemy's  left 
flank  had  been  smashed  and  thrown  back,  the  XXth 
Corps  repaid  the  XXIst  Corps,  not  only  by  returning 
what  it  had  borrowed,  but  by  marching  back  into 
the  region  of  railhead  at  Karm,  where  it  could  live 
with  a  minimum  of  transport  and  send  all  its  surplus 
to  work  in  the  coastal  sector.  The  switching  over 
of  this  transport  was  a  fine  piece  of  organisation. 
On  the  allotted  day  many  thousands  of  camels  were 
seen  drawn  out  in  huge  Unes  all  over  the  country 
intersected  by  the  wadi  Ghuzze,  slowly  converging 
on  the  spots  at  which  they  could  be  barracked  and 
rested  before  loading  for  the  advance.  The  lorries 
took  other  paths.  There  was  no  repose  for  their 
drivers.  They  worked  till  the  last  moment  on  the 
east,  and  then,  caked  with  the  accumulated  dust  of 
a  week's  weary  labour  in  sand  and  powdered  earth, 


98  HOW  JERUSALEIM  WAS  WON 

turned  westward  to  arrive  just  in  time  to  load  up  and 
be  off  again  in  pursuit  of  infantry,  some  making  the 
mistake  of  travelling  between  the  West  and  East 
Towns  of  Gaza,  while  others  took  the  longer  and 
sounder  but  still  treacherous  route  east  of  Ah  Muntar 
and  through  the  old  positions  of  the  Turks.  These 
lorry  drivers  were  wonderful  fellows  who  laughed  at 
their  trials,  but  in  the  days  and  nights  when  they 
bumped  over  the  uneven  tracks  and  negotiated  earth 
rents  that  threatened  to  swallow  their  vehicles,  they 
put  their  faith  in  the  promise  of  the  railway  con- 
structors to  open  the  station  at  Gaza  at  an  early  date. 
Even  Gaza,  though  it  saved  them  so  many  toilsome 
miles,  did  not  help  them  greatly  because  of  a  terrible 
piece  of  road  north-east  of  the  station,  but  Beit 
Hanun  was  comfortable  and  for  the  relief  brought 
by  the  railway's  arrival  at  Deir  Sineid  they  were 
profoundly  grateful. 

But  this  is  anticipating  the  story  of  Gaza's  capture. 
The  XXIst  Corps  had  not  received  its  additional 
transport  when  it  gained  the  ancient  city  of  the  Phihs- 
tines,  though  it  knew  some  of  it  was  on  the  way 
and  most  of  it  about  to  start  on  its  westward  trek. 
On  the  day  of  November  4  and  during  the  succeed- 
ing night  the  Navy  co-operated  with  the  Corps' 
artillery  in  destroying  enemy  trenches  and  gun 
positions,  and  the  Ali  Muntar  Ridge  was  a  glad  sight 
for  tired  gunners'  eyes.  The  enemy  showed  a  dis- 
position to  retahate,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
4th  he  put  up  a  fierce  bombardment  of  our  front- 
line positions  from  Outpost  Hill  to  the  sea,  including 
in  his  fire  area  the  whole  of  the  trenches  we  had  taken 
from  him  from  Umbrella  Hill  to  Sheikh  Hasan. 
Many  observers  of  this  bombardment  by  all  the 
Turks'  guns  of  heavy,  medium,  and  small  cahbre 
declared  it  was  the  prelude  not  of  an  attack  but  of 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN       99 

a  retirement,  and  that  the  Turks  were  loosing  off  a 
lot  of  the  ammunition  they  knew  they  could  not 
carry  away.  They  were  probably  right,  though  the 
enemy  made  no  sign  of  going  away  for  a  couple  of 
days,  but  if  he  thought  his  demonstration  by  artillery 
was  going  to  hasten  back  to  Gaza  some  of  the  troops 
assembling  against  the  left  of  his  main  line  he  was 
grievously  in  error.  The  XXIst  Corps  was  strong 
enough  to  deal  with  any  attack  the  Turks  could 
launch,  and  they  would  have  been  pleased  if  an 
attempt  to  reach  our  hnes  had  been  made. 

Next  day  the  Turks  were  much  quieter.  They 
had  to  sit  under  a  terrific  fire  both  on  the  5th  and  6th 
November,  when  in  order  to  assist  XXth  Corps' 
operations  the  Corps'  heavy  artillery,  the  divisional 
artillery,  and  the  warships'  guns  carried  out  an  in- 
tense bombardment.  The  land  guns  searched  the 
Turks'  front  line  and  reserve  systems,  while  the 
Navy  fired  on  Fryer's  Hill  to  the  north  of  Ah  Muntar, 
Sheikh  Redwan,  a  sandhill  with  a  native  chief's 
tomb  on  the  crest,  north  of  Gaza,  and  on  trenches 
not  easily  reached  by  the  Corps'  guns. 

During  the  night  of  November  6-7  General  Palin's 
75th  Division,  as  a  preliminary  to  a  major  operation 
timed  for  the  following  morning,  attacked  and  gained 
the  enemy's  trenches  on  Outpost  Hill  and  the  whole 
of  Middlesex  Hill  to  the  north  of  it,  the  opposition 
being  less  serious  than  was  anticipated.  At  day- 
hght  the  75th  Division  pushed  on  over  the  other 
hills  towards  Ali  Muntar  and  gained  that  dominating 
position  before  eight  o'clock.  The  fighting  had  not 
been  severe,  and  it  was  soon  realised  that  the  enemy 
had  left  Gaza,  abandoning  a  stronghold  which  had 
been  prepared  for  defence  with  all  the  ingenuity 
German  masters  of  war  could  suggest  and  into  which 
had  been  worked  an  enormous  amount  of  material. 


100  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

It  was  obvious  from  the  complete  success  of  XXth 
Corps'  operations  against  the  Turkish  left,  which  had 
been    worked   out    absolutely    '  according    to   plan,' 
that  General  Allenby  had  so  thoroughly  mystified 
von   Kressenstein  that   the   latter  had  put   all   his 
reserves  into  the  wrong   spot,    and   that    the   53rd 
Division's  stout  resistance  against  superior  numbers 
had  pinned  them  down  to  the  wrong  end  of  the  line. 
There  was  notliing,  therefore,  for  the  Turk  to  do 
but  to  try   to   hold   another  position,   and  he  was 
straining  every  nerve  to  reach  it.     The  East  Anglian 
Division  went  up  west  of  Gaza  and  held  from  Sheikh 
Redwan  to  the  sea  by  seven  o'clock,  two  squadrons 
of  the  Corps'  cavalry  rode  along  the  seashore  and  had 
patrols  on  the  wadi  Hesi  a  little  earlier  than  that, 
and  the  Imperial  Service  Cavalry  Brigade,  composed 
of  troops  raised  and  maintained  by  patriotic  Indian 
princes,  passed  through  Gaza  at  nine  o'clock  and  went 
out  towards  Beit  Hanun.     To  the  Lowland  Division 
was  given  the  important  task  of  getting  to  the  right 
or  northern  bank  of  the  wadi  Hesi.     These  imper- 
turbable Scots  left  their  trenches   in   the   morning 
dehghted   at   the   prospect   of   once   more   engaging 
in  open  warfare.     They   marched   along  the    beach 
under  cover  of  the  low  sand  cliffs,  and  by  dusk  had 
crossed  the  mouth  of  the  wadi  and  held  some  of  the 
high  ground  to  the  north  in  face  of  determined  opposi- 
tion.    The   157th  Brigade,  after   a   march   through 
very  heavy  going,  got  to  the  wadi  at  five  in  the 
afternoon  and  saw  the  enemy  posted  on  the  opposite 
bank.     The  place  was  reconnoitred  and  the  brigade 
made  a  fine  bayonet  charge  in  the  dark,  securing 
the  position  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock.     On 
this  and  succeeding  days  the  division  had  to  fight 
very  hard  indeed,  and  they  often  met  the  enemy  with 
the  bayonet.     One  of  their  officers  told  me  the  Scot 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN     101 

was  twice  as  good  as  the  Turk  in  ordinary  fighting, 
but  with  the  bayonet  his  advantage  was  as  five  to 
one.  The  record  of  the  Division  throughout  the 
campaign  showed  this  was  no  too  generous  an  esti- 
mate of  their  powers.  After  securing  AU  Muntar 
the  75th  Division  advanced  over  Fryer's  Hill  to 
Austraha  Hill,  so  that  they  held  the  whole  ridge 
running  north  and  south  to  the  eastward  of  Gaza. 
The  enemy  still  held  to  his  positions  to  the  right  of 
his  centre,  and  from  the  Atawineh  Redoubt,  Tank 
Redoubt,  and  Beer  trenches  there  was  considerable 
shelling  of  Gaza  and  the  Ali  Muntar  ridge  throughout 
the  day.  A  large  number  of  shells  fell  in  the  planta- 
tions on  the  western  side  of  the  ridge  ;  our  mastery 
of  the  air  prevented  enemy  aviators  observing  for 
their  artillery,  or  they  would  have  seen  no  traffic 
was  passing  along  that  way.  We  were  using  the  old 
Cairo  '  road,'  and  as  far  as  I  could  see  not  an  enemy 
shell  reached  it,  though  when  our  troops  were  in 
the  town  of  Gaza  there  were  many  crumps  and 
woolly  bears  to  disturb  the  new  occupation.  But 
all  went  swimmingly.  It  was  true  we  had  only 
captured  the  well-cracked  shell  of  a  town,  but  the 
taking  of  it  was  full  of  promise  of  greater  things, 
and  those  of  us  who  looked  on  the  mutilated  remnants 
of  one  of  the  world's  oldest  cities  felt  we  were  indeed 
witnesses  of  the  beginning  of  the  downfall  of  the 
Turkish  Empire.  Next  morning  the  75th  Division  cap- 
tured Beer  trenches  and  Tank  and  Atawineh  Redoubts 
and  linked  up  with  the  Irish  Division  of  XXth  Corps 
on  its  right.  They  were  shelled  heavily,  but  it  was  the 
shelling  of  rearguards  and  not  attackers,  and  soon  after 
twelve  o'clock  we  had  the  best  of  evidence  that  the 
Turks  were  saying  good-bye  to  a  neighbourhood 
they  had  long  inhabited.  I  was  standing  on  Rasp- 
berry Hill,  the  battle  headquarters  of  XXIst  Corps, 


102  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

when  I  heard  a  terrific  report.  Staff  officers  who  were 
used  to  the  visitations  of  aerial  marauders  came  out 
of  their  shelters  and  searched  the  pearly  vault  of  the 
heavens  for  Fritz.  No  machine  could  be  found. 
Some  one  looking  across  the  country  towards  Atawineh 
saw  a  huge  mushroom-shaped  cloud,  and  then  we 
knew  that  one  enormous  dump  at  least  contained 
no  more  projectiles  to  hold  up  an  advance.  This 
ammunition  store  must  have  been  eight  miles  away 
as  the  crow  fhes,  but  the  noise  of  the  explosion  was 
so  violent  that  it  was  a  considerable  time  before 
some  ofi&cers  could  be  brought  to  believe  an  enemy 
plane  had  not  laid  an  egg  near  us.  The  blowing 
up  of  that  dump  was  a  signal  that  the  Turk 
was  off. 

The  Lowlanders  had  another  very  strenuous  day 
in  the  sand-dune  belt.  First  of  all  they  repulsed  a 
strong  counter-attack  from  the  direction  of  Askalon. 
Then  the  155th  Infantry  Brigade  went  forward  and, 
swinging  to  the  right,  drove  the  Turks  off  the  rising 
gromid  north-west  of  Deir  Sineid,  the  possession  of 
which  would  determine  the  question  whether  the 
Turk  could  hold  on  in  this  quarter  sufficiently  long 
to  enable  him  to  get  any  of  his  material  away  by  his 
railway  and  road.  The  enemy  put  in  a  counter- 
attack of  great  violence  and  forced  the  Scots  back. 
The  157th  Brigade  in  the  early  evening  attacked  the 
ridge  and  gained  the  whole  of  their  objectives  by 
eight  o'clock.  There  ensued  some  sanguinary  strug- 
gles on  this  sandy  ground  during  the  night.  The 
Turks  were  determined  to  have  possession  of  it  and 
the  Scots  were  wiUing  to  fight  it  out  to  a  finish.  The 
first  counter-attack  in  the  dark  hours  drove  the  Low- 
landers  off,  but  they  were  shortly  afterwards  back 
on  the  hills  again.  The  Turks  returned  and  pushed 
the  Highland  Light  Infantry  and  Argyll  and  Suther- 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN      103 

land  Highlanders  off  a  second  time.     A  third  attack 
was  dehvered  with  splendid  vigour  and  the  enemy- 
left  many  dead,  but  they  renewed  their  efforts  to 
get   the   commanding   ground   and   succeeded   once 
more.     The  dogged  Scots,  however,  were  not  to  be 
denied.     They  re-formed  and  swept  up   the  heavy 
shifting  sand,  met  the  Turk  on  the  top  with  a  clash 
and   knocked   him   down   the   reverse   slope.     Soon 
afterwards   there   was   another   ding-dong   struggle. 
The  Turks,  putting  in  all  their  available  strength, 
for  a  fourth  time  got  the  upper  hand,  and  the  Low- 
landers  had  to  yield  the  ground,  doing  it  slowly  and 
reluctantly  and  with  the  determination  to  try  again. 
They  were  Robert  Bruces,  aU  of  them.     It 's  the  best 
that  stays  the  longest.     After  a  brief  rest  these  heroic 
Scots  once  more  swarmed  up  the  ridge.     Their  cheers 
had  the  note  of  victory  in  them,  they  drove  their 
bayonets  home  with  the  haymakers'  Hft,  and  what 
was  left  of  the  Turks  fled  helter-skelter  down  the 
hill  towards  Deir  Sineid,  broken,  dismayed,  beaten, 
and   totally   unable   to   make   another   effort.     The 
H.L.I.  Brigade's  victory  was  bought  at  a  price.     The 
cost  of  that  hill  was  heavy,  but  the  Turks'  tale  of  dead 
was  far  heavier  than  ours,  and  we  had  won  and  held 
the  hills  and  consoUdated  them.     The  Turks  then 
turned  their  faces  to  the  north  and  the  Scots  hurried 
them   on.     The   Imperial   Service    Cavalry   Brigade 
had  also  met  with  considerable  resistance,  but  they 
worked  up   to   and  on  the  ridge  overlooking  Beit 
Hanun  from  the  east  and  captured  a  5*9.     By  evening 
these  Indian  horsemen  were  Hnked  up  with  the  4th 
Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  on  their  right  and 
the  52nd  Division  on  their  left,  and  pursued  the  enemy 
as  far  as  Tumrah  and  Deir  Sineid. 

General  Headquarters  directed  that  two  infantry 
divisions  should  advance  to  the  line  Julis-Hamameh 


104  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

in  support  of  mounted  troops,  and  the  75th  Division 
was  accordingly  ordered  from  its  position  east  of  Gaza 
up  to  Beit  Hanun.  On  the  9th  November  the  52nd 
Division  was  again  advancing.  The  156th  Brigade 
had  moved  forward  from  the  Gaza  trenches.  One 
officer,  five  grooms,  and  two  signallers  mounted  on 
second  horses  formed  a  little  party  to  reconnoitre 
Askalon,  and  riding  boldly  into  the  ancient  landing 
place  of  the  Crusader  armies  captured  the  ruined 
town  unaided.  There  are  visible  remains  of  its  old 
strength,  but  the  power  of  Askalon  has  departed. 
It  still  stands  looking  over  the  blue  Mediterranean 
as  a  sort  of  watch  tower,  a  silent,  deserted  outpost 
of  the  land  the  Crusaders  set  their  hearts  on  gaining 
and  preserving  for  Christianity,  but  behind  it  is  many 
centuries'  accumulation  of  sand  encroaching  upon 
the  fertile  plain,  and  no  effort  has  been  made  to  stop 
the  inroad.  The  gallant  half-dozen  having  reported 
to  the  156th  Brigade  that  Askalon  was  open  to  them 
— the  Brigade  occupied  the  place  at  noon — rode  across 
the  sand-dunes  to  the  important  native  town  of 
Mejdel,  where  there  was  a  substantial  bazaar  doing 
a  good  trade  in  the  essentials  for  native  existence, 
beans  and  cereals  in  plenty,  fruit,  and  tobacco  of 
execrable  quahty.  At  Mejdel  the  six  accepted  the 
surrender  of  a  body  of  Turks  guarding  a  substantial 
ammunition  dump  and  rejoined  their  units,  satisfied 
with  the  day's  adventure.  The  Turks  had  retired 
a  considerable  distance  during  the  day.  The  prin- 
cipal body  was  moving  up  what  is  called  the  main 
road  from  Deir  Sineid,  through  Beit  Jerjal  to  Juhs, 
to  get  to  Suafir  esh  Sherkiyeh,  Kustineh,  and  Junction 
Station,  from  which  they  could  reach  Latron  by  a 
metalled  road,  or  Ramleh  by  a  hard  mud  track  by 
the  side  of  their  railway.  They  were  clearly  going 
to  oppose  us  all  the  way  or  they  would  lose  the  whole 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN   105 

of  their  material,  and  their  forces  east  and  west  of 
the  road  were  well  handled  in  previously  selected 
and  partially  prepared  positions. 

They  left  behind  them  the  unpleasant  trail  of  a 
defeated  army.  Turks  had  fallen  by  the  way  and 
the  natives  would  not  bury  them.  Our  aircraft  had 
bombed  the  road,  and  the  dead  men,  cattle  and  horses, 
and  smashed  transport  were  ghastly  sights  and  made 
the  air  ofifensive.  There  they  lay,  one  long  line  of 
dead  men  and  animals,  and  if  a  London  fog  had 
descended  to  blind  the  eyes  of  our  Army  the  sense 
of  smell  would  still  have  carried  a  scout  on  the  direct 
line  of  the  Turkish  retreat. 

I  will  break  off  the  narrative  of  fighting  at  this 
point  to  describe  a  scene  which  expressed  more 
eloquently  than  anything  else  I  witnessed  in  Palestine 
how  deeply  engraved  in  the  native  mind  was  the 
conviction  that  Britain  stood  for  fair  dealing  and 
freedom.  The  inhabitants,  like  the  Arabs  of  the 
desert,  do  not  allow  their  faces  to  betray  their  feelings. 
They  preserve  a  stolid  exterior,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
tell  from  their  demeanour  whether  they  are  friendly 
or  indifferent  to  you.  But  their  actions  speak  aloud. 
Early  on  the  morning  after  the  Lowlanders  had 
entered  Me j del  I  was  in  the  neighbourhood.  Our 
guns  banging  away  to  the  north  were  a  reminder  that 
there  was  to  be  no  promenade  over  the  Plain,  and 
that  we  had  yet  to  make  good  the  formidable  obstacle 
of  the  wadi  Sukereir,  when  I  passed  a  curious  pro- 
cession. People  whom  the  Turks  had  turned  out  of 
Gaza  and  the  surrounding  country  were  trekking 
back  to  the  spots  where  they  and  their  forefathers 
had  lived  for  countless  generations.  All  their  worldly 
goods  and  chattels  were  packed  on  overloaded  camels 
and  donkeys.  The  women  bore  astonishingly  heavy 
loads  on  their  heads,  the  men  rode  or  walked  carrying 


106  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

nothing,  while  patriarchs  of  famihes  were  either  held 
in  donkey  saddles  or  were  borne  on  the  shoulders  of 
younger  men.     Agriculturists  began  to  turn  out  to 
plough  and  till  the  fields  which  had  lain  fallow  while 
the  Turkish  scourge  of  war  was  on  the  land,  and  the 
people  showed  that,  now  they  had  the  security  of 
British  protection,  they  intended  at  once  to  resume 
then-  industry.     The  troops  had  the  liveUest  welcome 
in  passing  tlu'ough  villages,  though  the  people  are  not 
as  a  rule  demonstrative  ;  and  one  could  point  to  no 
better  evidence  of  the  exemplary  behaviour  of  our 
soldiers  than  the  groups  of  women  sitting  and  gossip- 
ing round  the  wells  during  the  process  of  drawing 
water,  just  as  they  did  in  Bibhcal  days,  heedless  of 
the    passing    troops   whom  they  regarded  as  their 
protectors.    The  man  behind  a  rude  plough  may  have 
stopped  his  ill-matched  team  of  pony  and  donkey  to 
look  at  a  column  of  troops  moving  as  he  had  never 
seen  troops  march  before,  a  head  of  a  family  might 
collect  the  animals  carrying  his  household  goods  and 
hurry  them  off  the  hne  of  route  taken  by  mihtary 
transport,  but  neither  one  nor  the  other  had  any  fear 
of  interference  with  his  work,  and  the  hf e  of  the  whole 
country,  one  of  the  most  unchanging  regions  of  the 
world,  had  suddenly  again  become  normal,  although 
only  yesterday  two  armies  had  disputed  possession 
of  the  very  soil  on  which  they  stood.     The  moment 
we  were  victorious  old  occupations  were  resumed  by 
the  people  in  the  way  that  was  a  tradition  from  their 
forefathers.     Our  victory  meant  peace  and  safety, 
according  to  the  native  idea,  and  an  end  to  extortion, 
oppression,   and  pillage  under  the  name  of  requisi- 
tions.    It  also  meant  prosperity.     The  native  hkes 
to  drive  a  bargain.     He  will  not  sell  under  a  fair 
price,  and  he  asks  much  more  in  the  hope  of  showing 
a  buyer  who  has  beaten  him  down  how  cheaply  he  is 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN     107 

getting  goods.     The  Army  chiefly  sought  eggs,  which 
are  hght  to  carry  and  easy  to  cook,  and  give  variety 
to  the  daily  round  of  bully,  biscuit,  and  jam.     The 
soldier  is  a  generous  fellow,  and  if  a  child  asked  a 
piastre  (2Jd.)  for  an  egg  he  got  it.     The  price  soon 
became  four  to  five  for  a  shilling  in  cash,  though  the 
Turks  wanted  five  times  that  number  for  an  equiva- 
lent sum  in  depreciated  paper  currency.     The  law 
of  supply  and  demand  obtained  in  this  old  world  just 
as  at  home,  and  it  became  sufficient  for  a  soldier  to 
ask  for  an  article  to  show  he  wanted  it  and  would  pay 
almost  anything  that  was  demanded.     It  was  curious 
to  see  how  the  news  spread  not  merely  among  traders 
but  also  among  villagers.     The  men  who  first  occu- 
pied a  place  found  oranges,  vegetables,  fresh  bread, 
and  eggs  cheap.     In  Ramleh,  for  example,  a  market 
was  opened  for  our  troops  immediately  they  got  to 
the  town,  and  the  goods  were  sound  and  sold  at  fair 
rates.    The  next  day  prices  were  up,  and  the  standards 
fixed  behmd  the  front  soon  ruled  at  the  fine  itself. 
There  was  no  real  control  attempted,  and  while  the 
extortionate  prices  charged  by  Jews  in  their  excellent 
agricultural  colonies  and  by  the  natives  made  a  poor 
people  prosperous,  it  gave  them  an  exaggerated  idea 
of  the  size  of  the  British  purse,  and  they  may  be 
disappointed  at  the  limitation  of  our  spending  powers 
in  the  future.     Also  it  was  hard  on  the  bravest  and 
most  chivalrous  of  fighting  men.     But  it  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  native,  whose  happiness  and  contentment 
were  obvious  directly  we  reached  his  doors. 

Our  movements  on  November  9  were  limited  by 
the  extent  to  which  General  Chauvel  was  able  to  use 
his  cavalry  of  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps.  Water 
was  the  sole,  but  absolute  handicap.  The  Yeomanry 
Mounted  Division  rejoined  the  Corps  on  that  day 
and  got  south  of  Huj,  but  could  not  proceed  further 


108  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

through  hick  of  water  and  supply  difficulties.  The 
Australian  Mounted  Division  also  had  to  halt  for 
water,  and  it  was  left  to  Anzac  Mounted  Division, 
plus  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade,  to  march  eighteen 
miles  north-westwards  to  occupy  the  line  Et  Tineh- 
Beit  Duras-Jcmameh-Esdud  (the  Ashdod  of  the 
Bible).  The  52nd  Division  occupied  the  area  Esdud- 
Mej del-Herb ieli  by  the  evening  of  the  10th,  and  on 
the  way,  Australian  cavalry  being  held  up  on  a  ridge 
north  of  Beit  Duras,  the  157th  Brigade  made  another 
of  its  fine  bayonet  charges  at  night  and  captured  the 
ground,  enabling  the  cavalry  to  get  at  some  precious 
water.  The  brigade  made  the  attack  just  after 
completing  a  fourteen  miles'  march  in  heavy  going, 
achieving  the  remarkable  record  of  having  had  three 
bayonet  battles  on  three  nights  out  of  four.  On 
this  occasion  the  Turks  again  suffered  heavy  casual- 
ties in  men  and  lost  many  machine  guns.  The  75th 
Division  prolonged  the  infantry  line  through  Ghar- 
biyeh  to  Berberah.  The  54th  Division  was  in  the 
Gaza  defences  with  all  its  transport  allotted  to  the 
divisions  taking  part  in  the  forward  move,  but  as 
the  54th  had  five  days'  rations  in  dumps  close  at  hand 
it  was  able  to  maintain  itself,  and  the  railway  was 
being  pushed  on  from  the  wadi  Ghuzze  with  the 
utmost  speed.  The  iron  road  in  war  is  an  army's 
jugular  vein,  and  each  mile  added  to  its  length  was 
of  enormous  value  during  the  advance. 

General  Allenby,  looking  well  ahead  and  realising 
the  possibilities  opened  out  by  his  complete  success 
in  every  phase  of  the  operations  on  the  Turks'  main 
defensive  line,  on  the  10th  November  ordered  the 
52nd  and  75th  Divisions  to  concentrate  on  their 
advanced  guards  so  as  to  support  the  cavalry  on 
their  front  and  to  prevent  the  Turk  consolidating 
on  the  line  of  the  wadi  Sukereir.     The  enemy  was 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  THE  OPEN     109 

developing  a  more  organised  resistance  on  a  crescent- 
shaped  line  from  Et  Tineh  through  Yasur  to  Beshshit, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  adopt  deliberate  methods 
of  attack  to  move  him.  The  advance  on  the  11th 
was  the  preliminary  to  three  days  of  stirring  fighting. 
The  Turks  put  up  a  very  strong  defence  by  their 
rearguards,  and  when  one  says  that  at  this  time 
they  were  fighting  with  courage  and  magnificent 
determination  one  is  not  only  paying  a  just  tribute 
to  the  enemy  but  doing  justice  to  the  gallantry  and 
skill  of  the  troops  who  defeated  him.  The  Scots 
can  claim  a  large  share  of  the  success  of  the  next 
two  days,  but  British  yeomanry  took  a  great  part 
in  it,  and  their  charge  at  Mughar,  and  perhaps  their 
charge  at  Abu  Shushe  as  well,  will  find  a  place  in 
military  text-books,  for  it  has  confounded  those 
critics  who  declared  that  the  development  of  the 
machine  gun  in  modern  warfare  has  brought  the  uses 
of  cavalry  down  to  very  narrow  limits. 

The  156th  Brigade  was  directed  to  take  Burkah 
on  the  12th  so  as  to  give  the  infantry  liberty  of 
manoeuvre  on  the  following  day.  Burkah  was  a 
nasty  place  to  tackle.  The  enemy  had  two  Unes  of 
beautifully  sited  trenches  prepared  before  he  fell 
back  from  Gaza.  The  Scots  had  to  attack  up  a  slope 
to  the  first  line,  and  having  taken  this  to  pass  down 
another  slope  for  1000  yards  before  reaching  the  glacis 
in  front  of  the  second  line.  The  Scottish  Rifles 
assaidted  this  position  by  day  without  much  artillery 
support,  but  they  took  it  in  magnificent  style.  It 
looked  as  if  the  Turks  had  accepted  the  verdict,  but 
at  night  they  returned  to  a  brown  hill  on  the  right 
and  drove  the  4th  Royal  Scots  from  it.  This  bat- 
talion came  back  soon  afterwards  and  retook  the 
hill  with  the  assistance  of  some  Gurkhas  of  General 
Colston's  233rd  Infantry  Brigade,  and  the  Turk  re- 


110  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

tired  to  another  spot,  hoping  that  his  luck  would 
change.  Wliile  this  fighting  was  going  on  about 
Burkah  the  155tli  Brigade  went  ahead  up  a  road 
which  the  cavalry  said  was  strongly  held.  They  got 
eight  miles  north  of  Esdud,  and  were  in  advance  of 
the  cavah-y,  intending  to  try  to  secure  the  two  heights 
and  villages  of  Katrah  and  Mughar  on  the  following 
day.  Katrah  was  a  village  on  a  long  mound 
south  of  Mughar,  native  mud  huts  constituting  its 
southern  part,  whilst  separated  from  it  on  the 
northern  side  by  some  gardens  was  a  pretty  little 
Jewish  settlement  whose  red-tiled  houses  and  orderly 
well-cared-for  orchards  spoke  of  the  industry  of  these 
settlers  in  Zion.  All  over  the  hill  right  up  to  the 
houses  the  cactus  flourished,  and  the  hedges  were  a 
replica  of  the  terrible  obstacles  at  Gaza.  From 
Katrah  the  gromid  sloped  down  to  the  flat  on  all 
four  sides,  so  that  the  village  seemed  to  stand  on  an 
island  in  the  plain.  A  mile  due  west  of  it  was 
Beshshit,  while  one  mile  to  the  north  across  more 
than  one  wadi  stood  El  Mughar  at  the  southern  end 
of  an  irregular  line  of  hills  which  separated  Yebnah 
and  Akir,  which  will  be  more  readily  recognised,  the 
former  as  the  Jamnia  of  the  Jews  and  the  latter  as 
Ekron,  one  of  the  famous  Philistine  cities.  While 
the  75th  Division  was  forcing  back  the  hne  Turmus- 
Kustineh-Yasur  and  Mesmiyeh  athwart  the  road  to 
Junction  Station  the  155th  Brigade  attacked  Katrah. 
The  whole  of  the  artillery  of  two  divisions  opened  a 
bombardment  of  the  line  at  eight  o'clock,  but  the 
Turks  showed  more  willingness  to  concede  ground 
on  the  east  than  at  Katrah,  where  the  machine-gun 
fire  was  exceptionally  heavy.  General  Pollak  M'Call 
decided  to  assault  the  village  with  the  bulk  of  his 
brigade,  and  seizing  a  rifle  and  bayonet  from  a  wounded 
man,  led  the  charge  himself,  took  the  village,  and 


THROUGH  GAZA  INTO  TJIE  OPEN      111 

gradually  cleared  the  enemy  out  of  the  cactus- 
enclosed  gardens.  The  enemy  losses  at  Katrah  were 
very  heavy.  In  crossing  a  rectangular  field  many 
Turks  were  caught  in  a  cross  fire  from  our  machine 
guns,  and  over  400  dead  were  counted  in  this 
one  field. 


CHAPTER  XI 

TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES 

In  front  of  the  mud  huts  of  Mughar,  so  closely  packed 
together  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  hill  that  the 
dwellmgs  at  the  bottom  seemed  to  keep  the  upper 
houses  from  falling  into  the  plain,  there  was  a  long 
oval  garden  with  a  clump  of  cypresses  in  the  centre, 
the   whole    surrounded   by   cactus   hedges   of   great 
age  and  strength.     In  the  cypresses  was  a  nest  of 
machine  guns  whose  crews  had  a  perfect  view  of 
an  advance  from  Katrah.     The  infantry  had  to  ad- 
vance over  flat  open  ground  to  the  edge  of  the  garden. 
The  Turkish  machine-gunners   and   riflemen  in  the 
garden  and  village  were  supported  by  artillery  firing 
from  behind  the  ridge  at  the  back  of  the  village, 
and  although  the  brigade  made  repeated  efforts  to 
get  on,  its  advance  was  held  up  in  the  early  afternoon, 
and  it  seemed  impossible  to  take  the  place  by  in- 
fantry from  the  south  in  the  clear  light  of  a  November 
afternoon.     The  6th  Mounted  Brigade  commanded 
by  Brigadier-General  C.  A.  C.  Godwin,  D.S.O.,  com- 
posed of  the  1/lst  Bucks  Hussars,  1/lst  Berkshire  Yeo- 
manry, and  1/lst  Dorset  Yeomanry,  the  Berkshire 
battery  Royal  Horse  Artillery,  and  the  17th  Machine 
Gun  Squadron — old  campaigners  with  the  Egyptian 
Expeditionary  Force — had  worked  round  to  the  left 
of  the  Lowlanders  and  had  reached  a  point  about 
two  miles  south-west  of  Yebnah,  that  place  having 
been  occupied  by  the  8th  Mounted  Brigade,    com- 
posed of  the  1/lst  City  of  London  Yeomanry,  1/lst 

112 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  113 

County  of  London  Yeomanry,  and  the  l/3rd  County 
of  London  Yeomanry.  At  haK-past  twelve  the  Bucks 
Hussars  less  one  squadron  and  the  Berks  battery, 
which  were  in  the  rear  of  the  brigade,  advanced  via 
Beshshit  to  the  wadi  Janus,  a  deep  watercourse  with 
precipitous  banks  running  across  the  plain  east  of 
Yebnah  and  joining  the  wadi  Rubin.  One  squadron 
of  the  Bucks  Hussars  had  entered  Yebnah  from  the 
east,  co-operating  with  the  8th  Brigade.  General 
Godwin  was  told  over  the  telephone  that  the  infantry 
attack  was  held  up  and  that  his  brigade  would 
advance  to  take  Mughar.  This  order  was  confirmed 
by  telegram  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  as  the  brigadier 
was  about  to  reconnoitre  a  hne  of  approach.  The 
Berks  battery  began  shelling  Mughar  and  the  ridge 
behind  the  village  from  a  position  half  a  mile  north 
of  Beshshit  screened  by  some  trees.  Brigade  head- 
quarters joined  the  Bucks  Hussars  headquarters  in 
the  wadi  Janus  half  a  mile  south-east  of  Yebnah, 
where  Lieut. -Colonel  the  Hon.  E.  Cripps  command- 
ing the  Bucks  Hussars  had,  with  splendid  judgment, 
already  commenced  a  valuable  reconnaissance,  the 
Dorset  and  Berks  Yeomanry  being  halted  in  a 
depression  out  of  sight  a  few  hundred  yards  behind. 
The  Turks  had  the  best  possible  observation,  and, 
knowing  they  were  holding  up  the  infantry,  con- 
centrated their  attention  upon  the  cavalry.  Therein 
they  showed  good  judgment,  for  it  was  from  the 
mounted  troops  the  heavy  blow  was  to  fall.  Lieut. 
Perkins,  Bucks  Hussars,  was  sent  forward  to  re- 
connoitre the  wadi  Shellal  el  Ghor,  which  runs 
parallel  to  and  east  of  the  wadi  Janus.  He  became 
the  target  of  every  kind  of  fire,  guns,  machine  guns, 
and  rifles  opening  on  him  from  the  ridge  whenever 
he  exposed  himself.  Captain  Patron,  of  the  17th 
Machine  Gun  Squadron,  was  similarly  treated  while 

H 


114  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

examining  a  position  from  which  to  cover  the  advance 
of  the  brigade  with  concentrated  machine-gun  fire. 
It  was  not  an  easy  thhig  to  get  cavaky  into  position 
for  a  mounted  attack.  Except  in  the  wadis  the  plain 
between  Yebnah  and  Mughar  offered  no  cover  and 
was  within  easy  range  of  the  enemy's  guns.  The 
wadi  Janus  was  a  deep  sht  in  the  ground  with  sides 
of  clay  falling  almost  sheer  to  the  stony  bottom. 
It  was  hard  to  get  horses  into  the  wadi  and  equally 
troublesome  to  get  them  to  bank  again,  and  the  wadi 
in  most  places  was  so  narrow  that  horses  could  only 
move  in  single  file.  The  Dorsets  were  brought  up 
in  small  parties  to  join  the  Bucks  in  the  wadi,  and  they 
had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  shell  and  rifle  fire.  The 
Berks  were  to  enter  the  wadi  immediately  the  Bucks 
had  left  it.  Behind  Mughar  village  and  its  gardens 
the  ground  falls  sharply,  then  rises  again  and  forms 
a  rocky  hill  some  300  yards  long.  There  is  another 
decline,  and  north  of  it  a  conical  shaped  hill,  also 
stony  and  barren,  though  before  the  crest  is  reached 
there  is  some  undulating  ground  which  would  have 
afforded  a  little  cover  if  the  cunning  Turks  had  not 
posted  machine  guns  on  it.  The  Dorset  Yeomanry 
were  ordered  to  attack  this  latter  hill  and  the  Bucks 
Hussars  the  ridge  between  it  and  Mughar  village,  the 
Berks  Yeomanry  to  be  kept  in  support.  There  seems 
to  be  no  reason  for  doubting  that  Mughar  would  not 
have  been  captured  that  day  but  for  the  extremely 
brilliant  charge  of  these  home  counties  yeomen. 
The  155th  Brigade  was  still  held  fast  in  that  part  of 
the  wadi  Janus  which  gave  cover  south-west  and  south 
of  Mughar,  and  after  the  charge  had  been  completely 
successful  and  the  yeomanry  were  working  forward 
to  clear  up  the  village  a  message  was  received — 
timed  2.45  p.m.,  but  received  at  4  p.m. — which  shows 
the    difficulties    facing    that    very    gallant    infantry 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  115 

brigade  :    '  52nd  Division  unable  to  make  progress. 
Co-operate  and  turn  Mughar  from  the  north.' 

It  was  a  hot  bright  afternoon.  The  dispositions 
having  been  made,  the  Bucks  Hussars  and  Dorset 
Yeomanry  got  out  of  the  wadi  and  commenced  their 
mounted  attack,  the  Berks  battery  in  the  meantime 
having  registered  on  certain  points.  The  Bucks 
Hussars,  in  column  of  squadrons  extended  to  four 
yards  mterval,  advanced  at  a  trot  from  the  wadi, 
which  was  3000  yards  distant  from  the  ridge  which 
was  their  objective.  Two  machine  guns  were  at- 
tached to  the  Bucks  and  two  to  the  Dorse ts,  and  the 
other  guns  under  Captain  Patron  were  mounted  in 
a  position  which  that  officer  had  chosen  in  the  wadi 
El  Ghor  from  which  they  could  bring  to  bear  a  heavy 
fire  almost  up  to  the  moment  the  Bucks  should  be 
on  the  ridge.  This  machine-gun  ^e  was  of  the 
highest  value,  and  it  unquestionably  kept  many 
Turkish  riflemen  inactive.  '  B  '  squadron  under  Cap- 
tain Bulteel,  M.C.,  was  leading,  and  when  1000  yards 
from  the  objective  the  order  was  given  to  gallop, 
and  horses  swept  over  the  last  portion  of  the  plain 
and  up  the  hill  at  a  terrific  pace,  the  thundering 
hoofs  raising  clouds  of  dust.  The  tap-tap  of  machine 
guns  firing  at  the  highest  pressure,  intense  rifle  fire 
from  all  parts  of  the  enemy  position,  the  fierce  storm 
of  shells  rained  on  the  hill  by  the  Berks  battery, 
which  during  the  charge  fired  with  splendid  accuracy 
no  fewer  than  200  rounds  of  shrapnel  at  a  range  of 
3200  to  3500  yards,  and  the  rapid  fire  of  Turkish 
field  guns,  completely  drowned  the  cheers  of  the 
charging  yeomen.  '  C '  squadron,  commanded  by  Lord 
Rosebery's  son.  Captain  the  Hon.  Neil  Primrose, 
M.C.,  who  was  killed  on  the  following  day,  made  an 
equally  dashing  charge  and  came  up  on  the  right 
of  '  B  '  squadron.     Once  the  cavalry  had  reached  the 


116  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

crest  of  the  hill  many  of  the  Turks  surrendered  and 
threw  down  their  arms,  but  some  retired  and  then, 
having  discovered  the  weakness  of  the  cavalry, 
returned  to  some  rocks  on  the  flanks  and  continued 
the  fight  at  close  range.  Captain  Primrose's  squad- 
ron was  vigorously  attacked  on  his  left  flank,  but 
Captahi  Bulteel  was  able  to  get  over  the  ridge  and 
across  the  rough,  steep  eastern  side  of  it,  and  from 
this  point  he  utilised  captured  Turkish  machine  guns 
to  put  down  a  heavy  barrage  on  to  the  northern 
end  of  the  village.  '  A '  squadron  luider  Captain 
Lawson  then  came  up  from  Yebnah  at  the  gallop, 
and  with  his  support  the  whole  of  the  Bucks'  ob- 
jectives were  secured  and  consolidated. 

The  Dorset  Yeomanry  on  the  left  of  the  Bucks 
had  1000  yards  farther  to  go,  and  the  country  they 
traversed  was  just  as  cracked  and  broken.  Their 
horses  at  the  finish  were  quite  exhausted.  At  the 
base  of  the  hills  Captain  Dammers  dismounted  'A' 
squadron,  which  charged  on  the  left,  and  the  squadron 
fought  their  way  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  on  foot. 
The  held  horses  were  caught  in  a  cone  of  machine- 
gun  fire,  and  in  a  space  of  about  fifty  square  yards 
many  gallant  chargers  perished.  '  B '  squadron  (Major 
Wingfield-Digby)  in  the  centre  and '  C '  squadron  (Major 
Gordon,  M.C.)  on  the  right,  led  by  Colonel  Sir  Randolf 
Baker,  M.P.,  formed  line  and  galloped  the  hill,  and 
their  horse  losses  were  considerably  less  than  those 
of  the  dismoiuited  squadron.  The  Berks  Yeomanry 
moved  to  the  wadi  El  Ghor  under  heavy  machine- 
gun  and  rifle  fixe  from  the  village  and  gardens  on  the 
west  side,  and  two  squadrons  were  dismounted  and 
sent  into  the  village  to  clear  it,  the  remaining  squadron 
riding  into  the  plain  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  ridge, 
where  they  collected  a  number  of  stragglers.  Dotted 
over  this  plain  were  many  dead  Turks  who  fell  under 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  117 

the  fire  of  the  Machine-Gun  Squadron  while  attempting 
to  get  to  Ramleh.  The  Turkish  dead  were  numerous 
and  their  condition  showed  how  thoroughly  the 
sword  had  done  its  work.  I  saw  many  heads  cleft 
in  twain,  and  Mughar  was  not  a  sweet  place  to  look 
upon  and  wanted  a  good  deal  of  clearing  up.  The 
yeomanry  took  18  officers  and  1078  other  ranks 
prisoners,  whilst  fourteen  machine  guns  and  two 
field  guns  were  captured.  But  for  the  tired  state 
of  the  horses  many  more  prisoners  would  have  been 
taken,  large  numbers  being  seen  making  their  way 
along  the  red  sand  tracks  to  Ramleh,  and  an  in- 
spection of  the  route  on  the  morrow  told  of  the  pace 
of  the  retirement  brought  about  by  the  shock  of 
contact  with  cavalry.  Machine  guns,  belts  and 
boxes  of  ammunition,  equipment  of  all  kinds  were 
strewn  about  the  paths,  and  not  a  few  wounded 
Turks  had  given  up  the  effort  to  escape  and  had  lain 
down  to  die. 

The  casualties  in  the  6th  Mounted  Brigade  were 
1  officer  killed  and  6  wounded,  15  other  ranks  killed 
and  107  wounded  and  1  missing,  a  remarkably  small 
total.  Among  the  mortally  wounded  was  Major  de 
Rothschild,  who  fell  within  sight  of  some  of  the 
Jewish  colonies  which  his  family  had  founded.  Two 
hundred  and  sixty-five  horses  and  two  mules  were 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  action. 

Mughar  was  a  great  cavalry  triumph,  and  the 
regiments  which  took  part  in  it  confirmed  the  good 
opinions  formed  of  them  in  this  theatre  of  war. 
The  Dorsets  had  already  made  a  spirited  charge 
against  the  Senussi  in  the  Western  Desert  in  1916,^ 
and  having  suffered  from  the  white  arm  once  those 
misguided  Arabs  never  gave  the  cavalry  another 
chance  of  getting  near  them.     The  Bucks  and  Berks, 

^  The  Desert  Campaigns  :  Constable. 


118  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  ^WON 

too,  had  taken  part  in  that  swift  and  satisfactory 
campaign.     All    three    regiments    on    the    following 
day  were  to  make  another  charge,  this  time  on  one 
of  the  most  famous  sites  in  the  battle  history  of 
Palestine.     The    6th    Mounted    Brigade    moved    no 
farther   on   the   day  of   Mughar   because   the   22nd 
Mounted  Brigade,  when  commencing  an  attack  on 
Akir,  the  old  Philistine  city  of  Ekron,  were  counter- 
attacked on  their  left.     During  the  night,  however, 
the  Turks  in  Akir  probably  heard  the  full  story  of 
Mughar,  and  did  not  wait  long  for  a  similar  action 
against  them.     The   22nd   Mounted   Brigade   drove 
them  out  early  next  morning,  and  they  went  rapidly 
away  across  the  railway  at  Naaneh,  leaving  in  our 
hands  the  railway  guard  of  seventy  men,  and  seeking 
the  bold  crest  of  Abu  Shushe.     They  moved,  as  I 
shall  presently  tell,  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the 
fire. 

The  155th  Infantry  which  helped  to  finish  up  the 
Mughar  business  took  a  gun  and  fourteen  machine 
guns.     Then  with  the  remainder  of  the  52nd  Division 
-it  had  a  few  hours  of  hard-earned  rest.     The  Divi- 
sion had  had  a  severe  time,  but  the  men  bore  their 
trials  with  the  fortitude  of  their  race  and  with  a 
spirit  which  could  not  be  beaten.     For  several  days, 
when  water  was  holding  up  the  cavalry,  the  Low- 
landers  kept  ahead  of  the  mounted  troops,  and  one 
battalion  fought  and  marched  sixty-nine  miles  in  seven 
days.     Their  training  was  as  complete  as  any  infantry, 
even  the  regimental  stretcher-bearers  being  taught 
the  use  of  Lewis  guns,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion 
the  bearers  went  for  the  enemy  with  Mills  bombs 
till  a  position  was  captured  and  they  were  required 
to  tend   the  wounded.      A  Stokes -gun  crew  found 
their  weapon  very  useful  in  open  warfare,  and  at 
one  place  where  machine  guns  had  got  on  to  a  large 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  119 

party  of  Turks  and  enclosed  them  in  a  box  barrage, 
the  Stokes  gun  searched  every  corner  of  the  area 
and  finished  the  whole  party.     The  losses  inflicted 
by   the    Scots   were   exceptionally   severe.     Farther 
eastwards  on  the  13th,  the  75th  Division  had  also 
been  giving  of  its  best.     The  objective  of  this  Division 
was  the  important  Junction  Station  on  the  Turks' 
Jafia- Jerusalem   railway,    and   a   big    step    forward 
was  made  in  the  early  afternoon  by  the  overcoming 
of  a  stubborn  resistance  at  Mesmiyeh,  troops  rushing 
the  village  from  the  south  and  capturing  292  prisoners 
and  7  machine  guns.     The  234th  Brigade  began  an 
advance  on  Junction  Station  during  the  night,  but 
were  strongly  counter-attacked  and  had  to  halt  till 
the  moj*ning,  when  at  dawn  they  secured  the  best 
positions  on  the  rolling  downs  west  of  the  station, 
and  by  7.30  the  station  itself  was  occupied.     Two 
engines  and  45  vehicles  were  found  intact ;  two  large 
guns  on  trucks  and  over   100  prisoners  were  also 
taken.     The  enemy  shelled  the  station  during  the 
morning,  trying  in  vain  to  damage  his  lost  rolling 
stock.     This  booty  was  of  immense  value  to  us,  and 
to  a  large  extent  it  solved  the  transport  problem 
which  at  this  moment  was  a  very  anxious  one  indeed. 
The  line  was  metre  gauge  and  we  had  no  stock  to  fit 
it,  though  later  the  Egyptian  State  Railways  brought 
down  some   engines   and   trucks   from   the   Luxor- 
Assou£.n  section,  but  this  welcome  aid  was  not  avail- 
able till  after  the  rains  had  begun  and  had  made  lorry 
traffic  liemporarily  impossible  between  our  standard 
gauge   railhead    and    our    fighting   front.     Junction 
Station  was  no  sooner  occupied  than  a  light-railway 
staff  under  Colonel  O'Brien  was  brought  up  from 
Beit  Hanun.     The  whole  of  the  line  to  Deir  Sineid 
was  not  in  running  order,  but  broken  culverts  were 
given  minor  repairs,  attention  was  bestowed  on  trucks, 


120  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

and  the  engines  were  closely  examined  while  the  Turks 
were  shelling  the  station.  The  water  tanks  had  been 
destroyed,  as  a  result  of  which  two  men  spent  hours 
in  filling  up  the  enghies  by  means  of  a  water  jug  and 
basin  found  in  the  station  buildings,  and  the  Turks 
had  the  mortification  of  seeing  these  engines  steam 
out  of  the  station  during  the  morning  to  a  cutting 
which  was  effective  cover  from  their  field-gun  fire. 
The  light-railway  staff  were  highly  delighted  at  their 
success,  and  the  trains  which  they  soon  had  running 
over  their  little  system  were  indeed  a  boon  and  a 
blessing  to  the  fighting  men  and  horses. 

On  this  morning  of  November  14  the  infantry 
were  operating  with  Desert  Mounted  Corps'  troops 
on  both  their  wings.  The  Austrahan  Mounted  Divi- 
sion was  on  the  right,  fighting  vigorous  actiors  with 
the  enemy  rearguards  secreted  in  the  irregular, 
rocky  foothills  of  the  Shephelah  which  stand  as 
ramparts  to  the  Judean  Mountains.  It  was  a  difficult 
task  to  drive  the  Turks  out  of  these  fastnesses,  and 
while  they  held  on  to  them  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  outflank  some  of  the  places  like  Et  Tineh,  a  railway 
station  and  camp  of  some  importance  on  the  hne  to 
Beersheba.  They  had  already  had  some  stiff  fighting 
at  Tel  el  Safi,  the  limestone  hill  which  was  the  White 
Guard  of  the  Crusaders.  The  Division  suffered 
severely  from  want  of  water,  particularly  the  5th 
Mounted  Brigade,  and  it  was  necessary  to  transfer 
to  it  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade  and  the  2nd  Aus- 
trahan Light  Horse  Brigade.  On  the  left  of  the 
infantry  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  was  moving 
forward  from  Akir  and  Mansura,  and  after  trie  22nd 
Moimted  Brigade  had  taken  Naaneh  they  detailed 
a  demolition  party  to  blow  up  one  mile  of  railway, 
so  that,  even  if  the  75th  Division  had  not  taken 
Junction   Station,   Jerusalem  would  have  been  en- 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  121 

tirely  cut  off  from  railway  communication  with  the 
Turkish  base  at  Tul  Keram,  and  Haifa  and  Damascus. 

Between  Naaneh  and  Mansura  the  6th  Mounted 
Brigade  was  preparing  for  another  dashing  charge. 
The  enemy  who  had  been  opposing  us  for  two  days 
consisted  of  remnants  of  two  divisions  of  both  the 
Turkish  Vllth  and  Vlllth  Armies  brought  to- 
gether and  hurriedly  reorganised.  The  victory  at 
Mughar  had  almost,  if  not  quite,  split  the  force  in 
two,  that  is  to  say  that  portion  of  the  line  which  had 
been  given  the  duty  of  holding  Mughar  had  been  so 
weakened  by  heavy  casualties,  and  the  loss  of  moral 
consequent  upon  the  shock  of  the  cavalry  charge, 
that  it  had  fallen  back  to  Ramleh  and  Ludd  and 
was  incapable  of  further  serious  resistance.  There 
was  still  a  strong  and  virile  force  on  the  seaside, 
though  that  was  adequately  dealt  with,  but  the  centre 
was  very  weak,  and  the  enemy's  only  chance  of 
preventing  the  mounted  troops  from  working  through 
and  round  his  right  centre  was  to  fall  back  on  Abu 
Shushe  and  Tel  Jezar  to  cover  Latron,  with  its  good 
water  supply  and  the  main  metalled  road  where  it 
enters  the  hills  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem.  The  loss 
of  Tel  Jezar  meant  that  we  could  get  to  Latron  and 
the  Vale  of  Ajalon,  and  the  action  of  the  6th  Mounted 
Brigade  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  gave  it  to  us. 

The  Berks  Yeomanry  had  had  outposts  on  the 
railway  south-east  of  Naaneh  since  before  dawn. 
They  had  seen  the  position  the  previous  day,  and 
at  dawn  sent  forward  a  squadron  dismounted  to 
engage  the  machine  guns  posted  in  the  walled-in 
house  at  the  north  of  the  village.  From  the  railway 
to  the  Abu  Shushe  ridge  is  about  three  miles  of  up 
and  down  country  with  two  or  three  rises  of  sufficient 
height  to  afford  some  cover  to  advancing  cavalry. 
General   Godwin   arranged   that   six   machine   guns 


122  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

should  go  forward  to  give  covering  fire,  and,  supported 
by  the  Berks  battery  R.H.A.  from  a  good  position 
half  a  mile  west  of  the  railway,  the  Bucks  Hussars 
were  to  deliver  a  mounted  attack  against  the  hill, 
with  the  assistance  on  their  left  of  two  squadrons 
of  Berks  Yeomanry.  The  Dorset  Yeomanry  were 
moved  up  to  the  red  hill  of  Melat  into  support. 

At   seven   o'clock   the    attack   started,    the    22nd 
Mounted    Brigade    operating    on   foot   on    the   left. 
The  Bucks  Hussars,  taking  advantage  of  all  the  dead 
ground,  galloped  about  a  mile  and  a  half  until  they 
came  to  a  dip  behind  a  gently  rising  mound,  when, 
it  being  clear  that  the  enemy  held  the  whole  ridge 
in    strength,    Colonel    Cripps    signalled    to    Brigade 
Headquarters    at   Melat   for    support.     The    Dorset 
Yeomanry  moved  out  to  the  right  of  the  Bucks,  and 
the  latter  then  charged  the  hill  a  little  south  of  the 
village  and  captured  it.     It  was  a  fine  effort.     The 
sides  of  the  hill  were  steep  with  shelves  of  rock,  and 
the  crest  was  a  mass  of  stones  and  boulders,  while 
from  some  caves,  one  or  two  of  them  quite  big  places, 
the  Turks  had  machine  guns  in  action.     When  the 
Bucks  were  charging  there  was  a  good  deal  of  machine- 
gun  fire  &om  the  right,  but  the  Dorsets  dealt  with  this 
very  speedily,  assisted  by  the  Berks  battery  which 
had  also   moved  forward  to   a  near  position  from 
which  they  could  command  the  ridge  in  flank.      A 
hostile  counter-attack  developed  against  the  Dorsets, 
but  this  was  crushed  by  the  Berks  batterv  and  some 
of  the  52nd  Division's  guns.     Two  squadrons  of  the 
Berks  Yeomanry  in  the  meantime  had  charged  on 
the  left  of  the  Bucks  and  secured  the  hill  immediately 
to  the  south-east  of  Abu  Shushe  village,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  the  whole  of  this  strong  position  w^as  in  our 
hands,  the  brigade  having  sustained  the  extremely 
sUght  casualties  of  three  officers  and  thirty-four  other 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  123 

ranks  killed  and  wounded.  So  small  a  cost  of  life 
was  a  wonderful  tribute  to  good  and  dashing  leading, 
and  furnished  another  example  of  cavalry's  power 
when  moving  rapidly  in  extended  formation.  To 
the  infinite  regret  of  the  brigade,  indeed  of  the  whole 
of  General  Allenby's  Army,  one  of  the  officers  killed 
that  day  was  the  Hon.  Neil  Primrose,  an  intrepid 
leader  who,  leaving  the  comfort  and  safety  of  a  Minis- 
terial appointment,  answered  the  call  of  duty  to  be 
with  his  squadron  of  the  Bucks  Hussars.  He  was  a 
fine  soldier  and  a  favourite  among  his  men,  and  he 
died  as  a  good  cavalryman  would  wish,  shot  through 
the  head  when  leading  his  squadron  in  a  glorious 
charge.  His  body  rests  in  the  garden  of  the  French 
convent  at  Ramleh  not  far  from  the  spot  where 
humbler  soldiers  take  their  long  repose,  and  these 
graves  within  visual  range  of  the  tomb  of  St.  George, 
our  patron  saint,  will  stand  as  memorials  of  those 
Britons  who  forsook  ease  to  obey  the  stern  call  of 
duty  to  their  race  and  country. 

The  overwhelming  nature  of  this  victory  is  illus- 
trated by  a  comparison  of  the  losses  on  the  two  sides. 
Whereas  ours  were  37  all  told,  we  counted  between 
400  and  500  dead  Turks  on  the  field,  and  the  enemy 
left  with  us  360  prisoners  and  some  material.  The 
extraordinary  disparity  between  the  losses  can  only 
be  accounted  for  first  by  the  care  taken  to  lead  the 
cavalry  along  every  depression  in  the  ground,  and 
secondly  by  rapidity  of  movement.  The  cavalry 
were  confronted  by  considerable  shell  fire,  and  the 
volume  of  machine-gun  fire  was  heavy,  though  it 
was  kept  down  a  good  deal  by  the  covering  fire  of 
the  17th  Machine  Gun  Squadron. 

I  have  referred  to  the  importance  of  Jezar  as 
dominating  the  approaches  to  Latron  on  the  north- 
east and  Ramleh  on  the  north-west.     Jezar,  as  we 


124  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

call  it  on  our  maps,  has  been  a  stronghold  since  men 
of  aU  races  and  creeds,  coloured  and  white,  Pagan, 
Mahomedan,  Jew,  and  Christian,  fought  in  Palestine. 
It  is  a  spot  which  many  a  great  leader  of  legions  has 
coveted,  and  to  its  military  history  our  home  county 
yeomen  have  added  another  brilliant  page.  Let  me 
quote  the  description  of  Jezar  from  George  Adam 
Smith's  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  a 
book  of  fascinating  interest  to  all  students  of  the 
Sacred  History  which  many  of  the  soldiers  in 
General  AUenby's  Army  read  with  great  profit  to 
themselves  : 

'  One  point  in  the  Northern  Shephelah  round  which  these 
tides  of  war  have  swept  deserves  special  notice — Gezer,  or 
Gazar.  It  is  one  of  the  few  remarkable  bastions  which  the 
Shephelah  flings  out  to  the  west — on  a  ridge  running  towards 
Ramleh,  the  most  prominent  object  in  view  of  the  traveller 
from  JafiFa  towards  Jerusalem.  It  is  high  and  isolated,  but 
fertile  and  well  watered — a  very  strong  post  and  striking 
landmark.  Its  name  occurs  in  the  Egyptian  correspondence 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  where  it  is  described  as  being 
taken  from  the  Egyptian  vassals  by  the  tribes  whose  in- 
vasion so  agitates  that  correspondence.  A  city  of  the 
Canaanites,  under  a  king  of  its  own — Horam — Gezer  is  not 
given  as  one  of  Joshua's  conquests,  though  the  king  is  ;  but 
the  Israelites  drave  not  out  the  Canaanites  who  dwelt  at 
Gezer,  and  in  the  hands  of  these  it  remained  till  its  conquest  by 
Egypt  when  Pharaoh  gave  it ,  with  his  daughter,  to  Solomon  and 
Solomon  rebuilt  it.  Judas  Maccabeus  was  strategist  enough 
to  gird  himself  early  to  the  capture  of  Gezer,  and  Simon 
fortified  it  to  cover  the  way  to  the  harbour  of  Joppa  and 
caused  John  his  son,  the  captain  of  the  host,  to  dwell  there. 
It  was  virtually,  therefore,  the  key  of  Judea  at  a  time  when 
Judea's  foes  came  down  the  coast  from  the  north  ;  and,  with 
Joppa,  it  formed  part  of  the  Syrian  demands  upon  the  Jews. 
But  this  is  by  no  means  the  last  of  it.  M.  Clermont  Ganneau, 
who  a  number  of  years  ago  discovered  the  site,  has  lately 


TWO  YEOMANRY  CHARGES  125 

identified  Gezer  with  the  Mont  Gisart  of  the  Crusades.  Mont 
Gisart  was  a  castle  and  feif  in  the  county  of  Joppa,  with  an 
abbey  of  St.  Katharine  of  Mont  Gisart,  "whose  prior  was  one 
of  the  five  suffragans  of  the  Bishop  of  Lydda."  It  was  the 
scene,  on  the  24th  November  1174,  seventeen  years  before 
the  Third  Crusade,  of  a  victory  won  by  a  small  army  from 
Jerusalem  under  the  boy-king,  the  leper  Baldwin  iv.,  against 
a  very  much  larger  army  under  Saladin  himself,  and,  in 
1192,  Saladin  encamped  upon  it  during  his  negotiations 
for  a  truce  with  Richard. 

'  Shade  of  King  Horam,  what  hosts  of  men  have  fallen 
round  that  citadel  of  yours.  On  what  camps  and  columns 
has  it  looked  down  through  the  centuries,  since  first  you  saw 
the  strange  Hebrews  burst  with  the  sunrise  across  the  hills, 
and  chase  your  countrymen  down  Ajalon — that  day  when  the 
victors  felt  the  very  sun  conspiring  with  them  to  achieve  the 
unexampled  length  of  battle.  Within  sight  of  every  Egyp- 
tian and  every  Assyrian  invasion  of  the  land,  Gezer  has  also 
seen  Alexander  pass  by,  and  the  legions  of  Rome  in  unusual 
flight,  and  the  armies  of  the  Cross  struggle,  waver  and  give 
way,  and  Napoleon  come  and  go.  If  all  could  rise  who  have 
fallen  around  its  base — Ethiopians,  Hebrews,  Assyrians, 
Arabs,  Turcomans,  Greeks,  Romans,  Celts,  Saxons,  Mongols 
— what  a  rehearsal  of  the  Judgment  Day  it  would  be.  Few 
of  the  travellers  who  now  rush  across  the  plain  realise  that 
the  first  conspicuous  hill  they  pass  in  Palestine  is  also  one 
of  the  most  thickly  haunted — even  in  that  narrow  land  into 
which  history  has  so  crowded  itself.  But  upon  the  ridge 
of  Gezer  no  sign  of  all  this  now  remains,  except  in  the  Tel 
Jezer,  and  in  a  sweet  hollow  to  the  north,  beside  a  fountain, 
where  lie  the  scattered  Christian  stone  of  Deir  Warda,  the 
Convent  of  the  Rose. 

'  Up  none  of  the  other  valleys  of  the  Shephelah  has  history 
surged  as  up  and  down  Ajalon  and  past  Gezer,  for  none  are 
so  open  to  the  north,  nor  present  so  easy  a  passage  to 
Jerusalem.' 


CHAPTER  XII 

LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM 

The  Aiizac  Mounted  Division  had  only  the  1st 
Austrahan  Light  Horse  and  the  New  Zealand 
Mounted  Rifles  Brigade  operating  with  it  on  the 
I4th.  The  Australians,  by  the  evening,  were  in 
the  thick  olive  groves  on  the  south  of  Ramleh,  and 
on  the  ridges  about  Surafend.  On  their  left  the 
Turks  were  violently  opposing  the  New  Zealanders 
who  were  working  along  the  sand-dunes  with  the 
port  and  town  of  Jaffa  as  their  ultimate  objective. 
There  was  one  very  fierce  struggle  in  the  course  of 
the  day.  A  force  attacked  a  New  Zealand  regiment 
m  great  strength  and  for  the  moment  secured  the 
advantage,  but  the  regiment  got  to  grips  with  the 
enemy  with  hand-grenades  and  bayonets,  and  so 
completely  repulsed  them  that  they  fled  in  hopeless 
disorder  leavmg  many  dead  and  wounded  behind 
them.  It  was  unfortunate  that  there  was  no  mobile 
reserve  available  for  pursuit,  as  the  Turks  were  in 
such  a  pUght  that  a  large  number  would  have  been 
rounded  up.  General  Cox's  brigade  seized  Ramleh 
on  the  morning  of  the  15th,  taking  ninety  prisoners, 
and  then  advanced  and  captured  Ludd,  being  careful 
that  no  harm  should  come  to  the  building  which 
holds  the  grave  of  St.  George.  In  Ludd  360  prisoners 
were  taken,  and  the  brigade  carried  out  a  good  deal 
of  demohtion  work  on  the  railway  rumiing  north. 
The  New  Zealanders  made  Jaffa  by  noon  on  the  16th, 
the  Turks  evacuating  the  town  during  the  morning 

126 


LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM      127 

without  making  any  attempt  to  destroy  it,  though 
there  was  one  gross  piece  of  vandahsm  in  a  Christian 
cemetery  where  monuments  and  tombstones  had 
been  thrown  down  and  broken.  In  the  meantime, 
in  order  to  protect  the  rear  of  the  infantry,  five  bat- 
tahons  of  the  52nd  Division  with  three  batteries 
were  stationed  at  Yebnah,  Mughar,  and  Akir  until 
they  could  be  relieved  by  units  of  the  54th  Division 
advancing  from  Gaza.  To  enable  the  54th  to  move, 
the  transport  lent  to  the  52nd  and  75th  Divisions  had 
to  be  returned,  which  did  not  make  the  supply  of 
those  divisions  any  easier.  The  main  line  of  railway 
was  still  a  long  way  in  the  rear,  and  the  landing  of 
stores  by  the  Navy  at  the  mouth  of  the  wadi  Sukereir 
had  not  yet  begun.  A  little  later,  and  before  Jaffa 
had  been  made  secure  enough  for  the  use  of  ships, 
many  thousands  of  tons  of  supplies  and  ammunition 
were  put  ashore  at  the  wadi's  mouth,  and  at  a  time 
when  heavy  rains  damaged  the  newly  constructed 
railway  tracks  the  Sukereir  base  of  supply  was  an 
inestimable  boon.  Yet  there  were  times  when  the 
infantry  had  a  bare  day's  supply  with  them,  though 
they  had  their  iron  rations  to  fall  back  upon.  It 
speaks  weU  for  the  supply  branch  that  in  the  long 
forward  move  of  XXIst  Corps  the  infantry  were 
never  once  put  on  short  rations. 

While  the  54th  were  coming  up  to  take  over  from 
the  52nd,  plans  were  prepared  for  the  further  advance 
on  Jerusalem.  The  Commander-in-Chief  was  deeply 
anxious  that  there  should  be  no  fighting  of  any 
description  near  the  Holy  Places,  and  he  gave  the 
Turks  a  chance  of  being  chivalrous  and  of  accepting 
the  inevitable.  We  had  got  so  far  that  the  ancient 
routes  taken  by  armies  which  had  captured  Jerusalem 
were  just  before  us.  The  Turkish  forces  were  dis- 
organised by  heavy  and  repeated  defeats,  the  men 


128  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

demoralised  and  not  in  good  condition,  and  there  was 
no  hope  for  them  that  they  could  receive  sufficient 
reinforcements  to  enable  them  to  stave  off  the  ulti- 
mate capture  of  Bethlehem  and  Jerusalem,  though 
as  events  proved  they  could  still  put  up  a  stout 
defence.  W^e  loiow  from  papeis  taken  from  the 
enemy  that  the  Turks  beheved  General  Allenby 
intended  to  go  right  up  the  plain  to  get  to  the  defile 
leading  to  Messudieh  and  Nablus  and  thus  threaten 
the  Hedjaz  railway,  in  which  case  the  position  of 
the  enemy  in  the  Holy  City  would  be  hopeless, 
and  the  Turks  formed  an  assault  group  of  three 
infantry  divisions  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tul  Keram 
to  prevent  this,  and  continued  to  hold  on  to  Jerusalem. 
General  Allenby  proposed  to  strike  through  the  hills 
to  the  north-east  to  try  to  get  across  the  Jerusalem- 
Nablus  road  about  Bireli  (the  ancient  Beeroth),  and 
in  this  operation  success  would  have  enabled  him  to 
cut  off  the  enemy  forces  in  and  about  the  Holy  City, 
when  their  only  hne  of  retreat  would  have  been 
through  Jericho  and  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  The 
Turks  decided  to  oppose  this  plan  and  to  make  us 
fight  for  Jerusalem.  That  was  disappointing,  but 
in  the  end  it  could  not  have  suited  us  better,  for  it 
showed  to  our  own  people  and  to  the  world  how  after 
the  Turks  had  declined  an  opportunity  of  showing 
a  desire  to  preserve  the  Holy  Places  from  attack — 
an  opportunity  prompted  by  our  strength,  not  by 
any  fear  that  victory  could  not  be  won — General 
Allenby  was  still  able  to  achieve  his  great  objective 
without  a  diop  of  blood  being  spilled  near  any  of  the 
Holy  Sites,  and  without  so  much  as  a  stray  rifle 
bullet  searing  any  of  their  walls.  That  indeed  was 
the  triumph  of  military  practice,  and  when  Jerusalem 
fell  for  the  twenty-third  time,  and  thus  for  the  first 
time  passed  into  the  hands  of  British  soldiers,  the 


LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM      129 

whole  force  felt  that  the  sacrifices  which  had  been 
made  on  the  gaunt  forbidding  hills  to  the  north-west 
were  worth  the  price,  and  that  the  graves  of  English- 
man, Scot  and  Colonial,  of  Gurkha,  Punjabi,  and 
Sikh,  were  monuments  to  the  honour  of  British  arms. 
The  scheme  was  that  the  75th  Division  would 
advance  along  the  main  Jerusalem  road,  which  cuts 
into  the  hills  about  three  miles  east  of  Latron,  and 
occupy  Kuryet  el  Enab,  and  that  the  Lowland 
Division  should  go  through  Ludd,  strike  eastwards 
and  advance  to  Beit  Likia  to  turn  from  the  north 
the  hills  through  which  the  road  passes,  the  Yeo- 
manry Mounted  Division  on  the  left  flank  of  the 
52nd  Division  to  press  on  to  Bireh,  on  the  Nablus 
road  about  a  dozen  miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  A 
brief  survey  of  the  country  to  be  attacked  would 
convince  even  a  civihan  of  the  extreme  difficulties 
of  the  undertaking.  North  and  east  of  Latron 
(which  was  not  yet  ours)  frown  the  hills  which  con- 
stitute this  important  section  of  the  Judean  range, 
the  backbone  of  Palestine.  The  hills  are  steep  and 
high,  separated  one  from  another  by  narrow  valleys, 
clothed  here  and  there  with  fir  and  olive  trees,  but 
elsewhere  a  mass  of  rocks  and  boulders,  bare  and  in- 
hospitable. Practically  every  hill  commands  another. 
There  is  only  one  road — the  main  one — and  this  about 
three  miles  east  of  Latron  passes  up  a  narrow  defile 
with  rugged  mountains  on  either  side.  There  is  an 
old  Roman  road  to  the  north,  but,  unused  for  cen- 
turies, it  is  now  a  road  only  in  name,  the  very  trace 
of  it  being  lost  in  many  places.  In  this  strong 
country  men  fought  of  old,  and  the  defenders  not 
infrequently  held  their  own  against  odds.  It  is 
pre-eminently  suitable  for  defence,  and  if  the  warriors 
of  the  past  found  that  flint-tipped  shafts  of  wood 
would  keep  the  invader  at  bay,   how  much   more 


130  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

easily  could  a  modern  army  equipped  with  rifles  of 
precision  and  machine  guns  adapt  Nature  to  its 
advantage  ?  It  will  always  be  a  marvel  to  me  how 
in  a  country  where  one  machine  gun  in  defence 
could  hold  up  a  battalion,  we  made  such  rapid  pro- 
gress, and  how  having  got  so  deep  into  the  range  it 
was  possible  for  us  to  feed  our  front.  We  had  no 
luck  with  the  weather.  In  advancing  over  the  plain 
the  troops  had  suffered  from  the  abnormal  heat, 
and  many  of  the  w^ells  had  been  destroyed  or  damaged 
by  the  retreating  enemy.  In  the  hills  the  troops 
had  to  endure  heavy  rains  and  piercingly  cold  winds, 
with  mud  a  foot  deep  on  the  roads  and  the  earth  so 
slippery  on  the  hills  that  only  donkey  transport  was 
serviceable.  Yet  despite  all  adverse  circumstances 
the  infantry  and  yeomanry  pressed  on,  and  if  they 
did  not  secure  all  objectives,  their  dash,  resource, 
and  magnificent  determmation  at  least  paved  the 
way  for  ultimate  triumph. 

To  the  trials  of  hard  fighting  and  marching  on  field 
rations  the  wet  added  a  severe  test  of  physical  en- 
durance.    The  troops  were  m  enemy  country  where 
they  scrupulously  avoided  every  native  village,  and 
no  wall  or  roof  stood  to  shelter  them  from  wind  or 
water.     The  heat  of  the  first  two  weeks  of  November 
changed  with  a  most  undesirable  suddenness,  and 
though  the  days  continued  agreeably  warm  on  the 
plain  into  December,  the  nights  became  chilly  and 
then  desperately  cold.     The  single  blanket  carried 
in  the  pack — most  of  the  mfantry  on  the  march  had 
no  blanket  at  all — did  not   give  sufficient  warmth 
to  men  whose  blood  had  been  thinned  by  long  months 
of  work  imder  a  pitiless  Eastern  sun,  and  lucky  was 
the  soldier  who  secured  even  broken  sleep  in  the 
early  morning  hours  of  that  fighting  march  across 
the    northern    part    of    the    Maritime    Plain.      The 


LOOKING  TOWAEDS  JERUSALEM      131 

Generals,  with  one  eye  on  the  enemy  and  the  other 
on  the  weather,  must  have  been  dismayed  in  the 
third  week  of  November  at  the  gathering  storm 
clouds  which  in  bursting  flooded  the  plain  with  rains 
unusually  heavy  for  this  period  of  the  year.  The 
surface  is  a  very  light  cotton  soil  several  feet  deep. 
When  baked  by  summer  sun  it  has  a  cracked  hard 
crust  giving  a  firm  foothold  for  man  and  horse,  and 
yielding  only  shghtly  to  the  wheels  of  light  cars  ; 
even  laden  lorries  made  easy  tracks  over  the  country. 
The  lorries  generally  kept  off  the  ill-made  unrolled 
Turkish  road  which  had  been  constructed  for  winter 
use  and,  except  for  slight  deviations  to  avoid  wadis 
and  gullies  cut  by  Nature  to  carry  off  surplus  water, 
the  supply  columns  could  move  in  almost  as  direct 
a  course  as  the  flying  men.  When  the  heavens 
opened  all  this  was  altered.  The  first  storm  turned 
the  top  into  a  slippery,  greasy  mass.  In  an  hour 
or  two  the  rain  soaked  down  into  the  light  earth, 
and  any  lorry  driver  pulling  out  of  the  line  to  avoid 
a  skidding  vehicle  ahead,  had  the  almost  certainty 
of  finding  his  car  and  load  come  to  a  fuU  stop  with 
the  wheels  held  fast  axle  deep  in  the  soft  soil.  An 
hour's  hard  digging,  the  fixing  of  planks  beneath 
the  wheels,  and  a  towing  cable  from  another  lorry 
sometimes  got  the  machine  on  to  the  pressed-down 
track  again  and  enabled  it  to  move  ahead  for  a  few 
miles,  but  many  were  the  supply  vehicles  that  had 
to  wait  for  a  couple  of  sunny  days  to  dry  a  path  for 
them. 

My  own  experience  of  the  first  of  the  winter  rains 
was  so  like  that  of  others  in  the  force  who  moved 
on  wheels  that  I  may  give  some  idea  of  the  conditions 
by  recounting  it.  We  had  taken  Ludd  and  Ramleh, 
and  guided  by  the  ruined  tower  of  the  Church  of 
the  Forty  Martyrs  I  had  foUowed  in  the  cavalry's 


132  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

wake.  I  dallied  on  the  way  back  to  see  if  Akir 
presented  to  the  latter-day  Crusader  any  signs  of 
its  former  strength  when  it  stood  as  the  Philistine 
stronghold  of  Ekron.  Near  where  the  old  city  had 
been  the  ghastly  sight  of  Turks  cut  down  by  yeo- 
manry during  a  hot  pursuit  offended  the  senses  of 
sight  and  smell,  and  when  you  saw  natives  moving 
towards  their  village  at  a  rate  somewhat  in  excess  of 
their  customary  shuffling  gait  you  were  almost  led  to 
think  that  their  superstitious  fears  were  driving  them 
home  before  sundown  lest  darkness  should  raise  the 
ghosts  of  the  Turkish  dead.  A  few  of  the  Jewish 
settlers,  whose  industry  has  improved  the  landscape, 
were  leaving  the  fields  and  orchards  they  tended  so 
well,  though  there  was  still  more  than  an  hour  of 
daylight  and  their  tasks  were  not  yet  done.  They 
were  weatherwise.  They  could  have  been  deaf  to  the 
rumblings  in  the  south  and  still  have  noticed  the 
coming  of  the  storm.  I  was  some  forty  miles  from 
the  spot  at  which  my  despatch  could  be  censored 
and  passed  over  land  wire  and  cable  to  London, 
when  a  vivid  lightning  flash  warned  me  that  the 
elements  were  in  forbidding  mood  and  that  I  had 
misread  the  obvious  signal  of  the  natives'  homeward 
movement. 

The  map  showed  a  path  from  Akir  through  Man- 
sura  towards  Junction  Station,  from  which  the  so- 
caUed  Turkish  road  ran  south.  In  the  gathering 
gloom  my  driver  picked  up  wheel  tracks  through  an 
ohve  orchard  and,  crossing  a  nullah,  found  the  marks 
of  a  Ford  car's  wheels  on  the  other  side.  The  rain 
fell  heavily  and  soon  obliterated  all  signs  of  a  car's 
progress,  and  with  darkness  coming  on  there  was  a 
prospect  of  a  shivering  night  with  a  wet  skin  in  the 
open.  An  Australian  doctor  going  up  to  his  regiment 
at  grips  with  the  Turk  told  me  that  he  had  no  doubt 


LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM      133 

we  were  on  the  right  road,  for  he  had  been  given  a 
Hne  through  Mansura,  which  must  be  the  farmhouse 
ahead  of  us.  These  AustraUans  have  a  keen  nose 
for  country  and  you  have  a  sense  of  security  in 
following  them.  The  doctor's  horse  was  shpping 
in  the  mud,  but  my  car  made  even  worse  going.  It 
skidded  to  right  and  left,  and  only  by  the  skill  and 
coolness  of  my  driver  was  I  saved  a  ducking  in  a 
narrow  wadi  now  full  of  storm  water.  After  much 
low-gear  work  we  pulled  up  a  slight  rise  and  saw  ahead 
of  us  one  or  two  little  fires.  Under  the  lee  of  a  dilapi- 
dated wall  some  Scottish  infantry  were  brewing  tea 
and  making  the  most  of  a  slight  shelter.  It  was  Man- 
sura, and  if  we  bore  to  the  right  and  kept  the  track 
beaten  down  by  lorries  across  a  field  we  might,  by 
the  favour  of  fortune,  reach  Junction  Station  during 
the  night.  The  Scots  had  arranged  a  bivouac  in  that 
field  before  it  became  sodden.  They  knew  how  bad 
it  had  got,  and  a  native  instinct  to  be  hospitable 
prompted  an  invitation  to  share  the  fire  for  the  night. 
However,  I^ondon  was  waiting  for  news  and  I  decided 
to  press  on.  The  road  could  not  be  worse  than  the 
sea  of  mud  in  which  I  was  floundering,  and  it  might 
be  better.  We  turned  right-handed  and  after  a 
struggle  came  up  against  three  lorry  drivers  hope- 
lessly marooned.  They  had  turned  in.  Up  a  greasy 
bank  we  came  to  a  stop  and  slid  back.  We  tried 
again  and  failed.  I  relieved  the  car  of  my  weight 
and  made  an  effort  to  push  it  from  behind,  but  my 
feet  held  fast  in  the  mud  and  the  car  cannoned  into 
me  when  it  skidded  downhill.  '  Better  give  it  up  till 
the  morning,'  said  an  M.T.  driver  whose  sleep  was 
disturbed  by  the  running  of  our  engine.  '  Can't  ? 
Who  've  you  got  there  ?  Eh  ?  Oh,  very  well.  Here, 
Jim,  give  them  a  hand  or  we  '11  have  no  sleep  to-night ' 
— or  words  to  that  effect.     Three  of  the  lorry  men 


134  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

and  the  engine  got  us  on  the  move,  and  before 
they  took  mud  back  with  them  to  the  dry  interiors 
of  the  lorries  they  hoped,  they  said,  that  we  would 
reach  G.H.Q.,  but  declared  that  it  was  hopeless 
to  try. 

Before  getting  much  farther  a  light,  waved  ahead 
of  us,  told  of  some  one  held  up.  I  walked  on  and 
found  General  Butler,  the  chief  of  the  Army  Veteri- 
nary Service  with  the  Force,  unable  to  move  an 
inch.  The  efforts  of  two  drivers  failed  to  locate  the 
trouble,  and  everything  removable  was  taken  off 
the  General's  car  and  put  into  ours,  and  with  the 
heavier  load  we  started  off  again  for  Junction  Station. 
This  was  not  difficult  to  pick  up,  for  there  were  many 
flares  burning  to  enable  working  parties  to  repair 
engines,  rolling  stock,  and  permanent  way.  We  got 
on  to  the  road  ultimately,  carrying  more  mud  on  our 
feet  than  I  imagined  human  legs  could  lift.  Leaving 
a  driver  and  all  spare  gear  at  the  station,  we  thrashed 
our  way  along  a  road  metalled  with  a  soft,  friable 
hmestone  which  had  been  cut  into  by  the  iron-shod 
wheels  of  German  lorries  until  the  ruts  were  fully  a 
foot  deep,  and  the  soft  earth  foundation  was  oozing 
through  to  the  surface.  It  was  desperately  hard  to 
steer  a  course  on  this  treacherous  highway,  and  a 
number  of  lorries  we  passed  had  gone  temporarily 
out  of  action  in  ditches.  The  Germans  with  the 
Turks  had  blown  up  most  of  the  culverts,  and  the 
road  bridges  which  had  been  destroyed  had  only  been 
lightly  repaired  with  planks  and  trestles,  no  safety 
rails  being  in  position.  To  negotiate  these  dangerous 
paths  in  the  dark  the  driver  had  to  put  on  all  possible 
speed  and  make  a  dash  for  it,  and  he  usually  got  to 
the  other  side  before  a  skid  became  serious.  Most  of 
the  lorry  drivers  put  out  no  light  because  they  thought 
no  car  would  be  able  to  move  on  such  a  night,  and  we 


LOOKING  TOWARDS  JERUSALEM      135 

had  several  narrow  escapes  of  finishing  our  career 
on  a  half-sunken  supply  motor  vehicle. 

Reinforcements  for  infantry  battalions  moved  up 
the  road  as  we  came  down  it.  They  were  going  to 
the  front  to  take  the  place  of  casualties,  for  weather 
and  mud  are  not  considered  when  bayonets  are  wanted 
in  the  line.  So  the  stolid  British  infantryman  splashed 
and  slipped  his  way  towards  the  enemy,  and  he  would 
probably  have  been  sleeping  that  night  if  there  had 
not  been  a  risk  of  his  drowning  in  the  mud.  The 
Camel  Transport  Corps  fought  the  elements  with  a 
courage  which  deserved  better  luck.  The  camel  dis- 
likes many  things  and  is  afraid  of  some.  But  if  he 
is  capable  of  thinking  at  all  he  regards  mud  as  his 
greatest  enemy.  He  cannot  stand  up  in  it,  and  if  he 
slips  he  has  not  an  understanding  capable  of  realising 
that  if  all  his  feet  do  not  go  the  same  way  he  must 
spread-eagle  and  split  up.  This  is  what  often  happens, 
but  if  by  good  luck  a  camel  should  go  down  sideways 
he  seems  quite  content  to  stay  there,  and  he  is  so 
refractory  that  he  prefers  to  die  rather  than  help 
himself  to  his  feet  again.  On  this  wild  night  I  had 
a  good  opportunity  of  seeing  white  officers  encourage 
the  Egyptian  boys  in  the  Camel  Transport  Corps. 
At  Julis  the  roadway  passes  through  the  village. 
There  was  an  ambulance  column  in  difficulties  in  the 
village,  and  while  some  cars  were  being  extricated  a 
camel  supply  column  came  up  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. The  camels  liked  neither  the  headlights  nor 
the  running  engines,  and  thesu  had  to  be  made  dark 
and  silent  before  they  would  pass.  The  water  was 
running  over  the  roadway  several  inches  deep, 
carrying  with  it  a  mass  of  garbage  and  filth  which 
only  Arab  villagers  would  tolerate.  Officers  and 
Gyppies  coaxed  and  wheedled  the  stubborn  beasts 
through   Julis,   but  outside   the   place   the   animals 


136  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

raised  a  chorus  of  protest  and  went  down.  They 
held  me  up  for  an  hour  or  more,  and  though  officers 
and  boys  did  their  utmost  to  get  them  going  again 
it  was  a  fruitless  effort,  and  the  poor  beasts  were  off- 
loaded where  they  lay.  That  night  of  rain  and 
thunder,  wind  and  cold,  was  bad  alike  for  man  and 
beast,  but  beyond  a  flippant  remark  of  some  soldier 
doing  his  best  and  the  curious  chant  of  the  Gyppies' 
chorus  you  heard  nothing.  Tommy  could  not  trust 
himself  to  talk  about  the  weather.  It  was  too  bad 
for  words,  for  even  the  strongest. 

It  took  our  car  ten  hours  to  run  forty  miles,  and  as 
the  last  ten  miles  was  over  wet  sand  and  on  rabbit 
wire  stretched  across  the  sand  where  the  car  could 
do  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  we  had  averaged  something 
under  three  miles  an  hour  through  the  mud.  Wet 
through,  cold,  with  a  face  rendered  painful  to  the 
touch  by  driven  rain,  I  reached  my  tent  with  a  feeling 
of  thankfulness  for  myself  and  deep  sympathy  for 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  brave  boys  enduring  intense 
discomfort  and  fatigue,  coupled  with  the  fear  of 
short  rations  for  the  next  day  or  two.  The  men  in 
the  hills  which  they  were  just  entering  had  a  worse 
time  than  those  in  the  waterlogged  plain,  but  no 
storms  could  damp  their  enthusiasm.  They  were 
beating  your  enemies  and  mine,  and  they  were 
facing  a  goal  which  Britain  had  never  yet  won. 
Jerusalem  the  Golden  was  before  them,  and  the 
honour  and  glory  of  wimiing  it  from  the  Turk  was 
a  prize  to  attain  which  no  sacrifice  was  too  great. 
Those  who  did  not  say  so  behaved  in  a  way  to  show 
that  they  felt  it.  They  were  very  gallant,  perfect 
knights,  these  soldiers  of  the  King. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS 

When  the  52nd  Division  were  moving  out  of  Ludd 
on  the  19th  November  the  75th  Division  were  fighting 
hard  about  Latron,  where  the  Turks  held  the  monas- 
tery and  its  beautiful  gardens  and  the  hill  about 
Amwas  until  late  in  the  morning.  Having  driven 
them  out,  the  75th  pushed  on  to  gain  the  pass  into 
the  hills  and  to  begin  two  days  of  fighting  which 
earned  the  unstinted  praise  of  General  Bulfin  who 
witnessed  it.  For  nearly  three  miles  from  Latron  the 
road  passes  through  a  flat  vaUey  flanked  by  hills  till 
it  reaches  a  guardhouse  and  khan  at  the  foot  of  the 
pass  which  then  rises  rapidly  to  Saris,  the  difference 
in  elevation  in  less  than  four  miles  being  1400  feet. 
Close  to  the  guardhouse  begin  the  hills  which  tower 
above  the  road.  The  Turks  had  constructed  de- 
fences on  these  hills  and  held  them  with  riflemen  and 
machine  guns,  so  that  these  positions  dominated  all 
approaches.  Our  guns  had  few  positions  from  which 
to  assist  the  infantry,  but  they  did  sterlmg  service 
wherever  possible.  In  General  Palin  the  Division 
had  a  commander  with  wide  experience  of  hill  fight- 
ing on  the  Indian  frontier,  and  he  brought  that 
experience  to  bear  in  a  way  which  must  have  dumb- 
founded the  enemy.  Frontal  attacks  were  impossible 
and  suicidal,  and  each  position  had  to  be  turned  by 
a  wide  movement  started  a  long  way  in  rear.  All 
units  in  the  Division  did  well,  the  Gurkhas  particu- 
larly well,  and  by  a  continual  encircling  of  their  flanks 

137 


138  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

the  Turks  were  compelled  to  leave  their  fastnesses 
and  fall  back  to  new  hill  crests.  Thus  outwitted 
and  outmatched  the  enemy  retreated  to  Saris,  a 
high  hill  with  a  commanding  view  of  the  pass  for 
half  a  mile.  The  hill  is  covered  with  olive  trees  and 
has  a  village  on  its  eastern  slope,  and  as  the  road 
winds  at  its  foot  and  then  takes  a  left-handed  turn 
to  Kur^^et  el  Enab  its  value  for  defence  was  con- 
siderable. 

Tlie  Turks  had  taken  advantage  of  the  cover  to 
place  a  large  body  of  defenders  with  machine  guns 
on  the  hill,  but  with  every  condition  unfavourable 
to  us  the  75th  Division  had  routed  out  the  enemy 
before  three  o'clock  and  w^ere  ready  to  move  forward 
as  soon  as  the  guns  could  get  up  the  pass.  Rain 
was  falling  heavily,  the  road  surface  was  clinging 
and  treacherous,  and,  worse  still,  the  road  had  been 
blown  up  in  several  places.  The  guns  could  not 
advance  to  be  of  service  that  day,  and  the  infantry 
had,  therefore,  to  remain  where  they  were  for  the 
night.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  sniping,  but  Nature 
was  more  unkind  than  the  enemy,  who  received  more 
than  he  gave.  The  troops  were  wearing  hght  summer 
clothing,  drill  shorts  and  tunics,  and  the  sudden 
change  from  the  heat  and  dryness  of  the  plain  to 
bitter  cold  and  wet  was  a  desperate  trial,  especially 
to  the  Indian  units,  who  had  httle  sleep  that  night. 
They  needed  rest  to  prepare  them  for  the  rigour  of 
the  succeeding  day.  A  drenching  rain  turned  the 
whole  face  of  the  mountains,  where  earth  covered  rock, 
into  a  sea  of  mud.  On  the  positions  about  Saris 
being  searched  a  number  of  prisoners  were  taken, 
among  them  a  battalion  commander.  Men  captured 
in  the  morning  told  us  there  were  six  Turkish  bat- 
tahons  holding  Enab,  which  is  something  under  two 
miles  from  Saris. 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  139 

The  road  proceeds  up  a  rise  from  Saris,  then  falling 
slightly  it  passes  below  the  crest  of  a  ridge  and  again 
climbs  to  the  foot  of  a  hill  on  which  a  red-roofed 
convent  church  and  buildings  stand  as  a  landmark 
that  can  be  seen  from  Jaffa.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  road  is  a  substantial  house,  the  summer  re- 
treat of  the  German  Consul  in  Jerusalem,  whose 
staff  traded  in  Jordan  Holy  Water  ;  and  this  house, 
now  empty,  sheltered  a  divisional  general  from  the 
bad  weather  while  the  operations  for  the  capture  of 
the  Holy  City  were  in  preparation.  I  have  a  grateful 
recollection  of  this  building,  for  in  it  the  military 
attaches  and  I  stayed  before  the  Official  Entry  into 
Jerusalem,  and  its  roof  saved  us  from  one  inclement 
night  on  the  bleak  hiUs.  On  the  20th  November 
the  Turks  did  their  best  to  keep  the  place  under 
German  ownership.  The  hill  on  which  it  stands 
was  well  occupied  by  men  under  cover  of  thick  stone 
waUs,  the  convent  gardens  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  highway  was  packed  with  Turkish  infantry, 
and  across  the  deep  valley  to  the  west  were  guns 
and  riflemen  on  another  hill,  all  of  them  holding  the 
road  under  the  best  possible  observation.  The 
enemy's  howitzers  put  down  a  heavy  barrage  on  all 
approaches,  and  on  the  reverse  of  the  hill  covering 
the  village  lying  in  the  hollow  there  were  machine 
guns  and  many  men.  Reconnaissances  showed  the 
difficulties  attending  an  attack,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  afternoon  that  a  plan  was  ready  to  be  put  into 
execution.  No  weak  points  in  the  defences  could 
be  discovered,  and  just  as  it  seemed  possible  that  a 
dayUght  attack  would  be  held  up,  a  thick  mist  roUed 
up  the  valley  and  settled  down  over  Enab.  The  2/3rd 
Gurkhas  seized  a  welcomed  opportunity,  and  as  the 
light  was  failing  the  shrill,  sharp  notes  of  these  gallant 
hillmen  and  the   deep  -  throated  roar  of  the   l/5th 


140  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Somersets  told  that  a  weighty  bayonet  charge  had 
got  home,  and  that  the  keys  of  the  enemy  position 
had  been  won.  The  men  of  the  bold  75th  went 
beyond  Enab  in  the  dark,  and  also  out  along  the  old 
Roman  road  towards  Biddu  to  deny  the  Turks  a 
point  from  which  they  could  see  the  road  as  it  fell 
away  from  the  Enab  ridge  towards  the  wadi  Ikbala. 
That  night  many  men  sought  the  doubtful  shelter  of 
olive  groves,  and  built  stone  sangars  to  break  the 
force  of  a  biting  wind.  A  few,  as  many  as  could  be 
accommodated,  were  welcomed  by  the  monks  in  a 
monastery  in  a  fold  in  the  hills,  whilst  some  rested  and 
were  thankful  in  a  cr3rpt  beneath  the  monks'  church, 
the  oldest  part  of  the  building,  beheved  to  be  the 
work  of  sixth-century  masons.  The  monks  had  a 
tale  of  woe  to  tell.  They  had  been  proud  to  have 
as  their  guest  the  Latin  Patriarch  in  Jerusalem, 
who  was  a  French  protege,  and  this  high  ecclesiastic 
remained  at  the  monastery  till  November  17,  when 
Turkish  gendarmerie  carried  him  away.  The  Spanish 
Consul  in  Jerusalem  lodged  a  vigorous  protest,  and, 
so  the  monks  were  told,  he  was  supported  by  the 
German  Commandant.  But  to  no  purpose,  for  when 
General  Allenby  entered  Jerusalem  he  learned  that 
the  Latin  Patriarch  had  been  removed  to  Damascus. 
For  quite  a  long  time  the  monks  did  many  kindly 
things  for  our  troops.  They  gave  up  the  greater 
part  of  the  monastery  and  church  for  use  as  a  hospital, 
and  many  a  sick  man  was  brought  back  to  health 
by  rest  within  those  ancient  walls.  Some,  alas, 
there  were  whose  wounds  were  mortal,  and  a  number 
lie  in  the  monks'  secluded  garden.  They  have  set 
up  wooden  crosses  over  them,  and  we  may  be  certain 
that  in  that  quiet  sequestered  spot  their  remains 
will  rest  in  peace  and  will  have  the  protection  of 
the  monks  as  surely  as  it  has  been  given  to  the  grave 


A  ROMAN  CENTURIONS  TOMB,   KURYET  EL  ENAB 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  141 

of  the  Roman  centurion  which  faces  those  of  our 
brave  boys  who  fell  on  the  same  soil  fighting  the  same 
good  fight. 

Wliile  the  75th  Division  were  making  their  mag- 
nificent effort  at  Enab  the  Lowlanders  had  breasted 
other  and  equally  difficult  hills  to  the  north.  General 
Hill  had  posted  a  strong  force  at  Beit  Likia,  and  then 
moved  south-east  along  the  route  prepared  by  Cestius 
Gallus  nearly  1900  years  ago  to  the  height  of  Beit 
Anan,  and  thence  east  again  to  Beit  Dukku.  On  the 
21st  the  road  and  ground  near  it  were  in  exceedingly 
bad  condition,  and  the  difficulty  of  moving  anything 
on  wheels  along  it  could  hardly  have  been  greater. 
Already  the  52nd  Division  had  realised  it  was  hope- 
less to  get  all  their  divisional  artillery  into  action, 
and  only  three  sections  of  artillery  were  brought  up, 
the  horses  of  the  guns  sent  back  to  Ramleh  being 
used  to  double  the  teams  in  the  three  advanced 
sections.  It  was  heavy  work,  too,  for  infantry  who 
not  only  had  to  carry  the  weight  of  mud-caked 
boots,  but  were  handicapped  by  continual  shpping 
upon  the  rocky  ground.  The  75th  advancing  along 
the  road  from  Enab  to  Kustul  got  an  idea  of  the 
Turkish  lack  of  attention  to  the  highway,  the  main 
road  being  deep  in  mud  and  full  of  dangerous  ruts. 
They  won  Kustul  about  midday,  and  officers  who 
cUmbed  to  the  top  got  their  first  glimpse  of  the  out- 
skirts of  Jerusalem  from  the  ruined  walls  of  a  Roman 
castle  that  gives  its  name  to  the  little  village  perched 
on  the  height.  They  did  not,  however,  see  much 
beyond  the  Syrian  colony  behind  the  main  Turkish 
defences,  and  the  first  view  of  Jerusalem  by  the  troops 
of  the  British  Army  was  obtained  by  General  Mac- 
lean's brigade  when  they  advanced  from  Biddu  to 
Nebi  Samwil,  that  crowning  height  on  which  many 
centuries  before  Richard  the  Lion  Heart  buried  his 


142  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

face  in  his  casque  and  exclaimed :  '  Lord  God,  I  pray- 
that  I  may  never  see  Thy  Holy  City,  if  so  be  that  I 
may  not  rescue  it  from  the  hands  of  Thine  enemies.' 

Wliat  a  fight  it  was  for  Nebi  Samwil !  The  Turk 
had  made  it  his  advanced  work  for  his  main  line 
runnmg  from  El  Jib  through  Bir  Nabala,  Beit  Iksa 
to  Lifta,  as  strong  a  chain  of  entrenched  mountains 
as  any  commander  could  desire.  General  Maclean's 
brigade  advanced  from  Biddu  along  the  side  of  a 
ridge  and  up  the  exposed  steep  slope  of  Nebi  Samwil, 
not  all  of  which,  in  the  only  direction  he  could  select 
for  an  advance,  was  terraced,  as  it  was  on  the  Turks' 
side.  He  was  all  the  time  confronted  by  heavy 
artillery  and  rifle  fire,  and,  though  supported  by  guns 
firing  at  long  range  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Enab, 
he  could  not  make  Nebi  Samwil  in  daylight.  Round 
the  top  of  the  hill  the  Turk  had  dug  deeply  into  the 
stony  earth.  He  knew  the  value  of  that  hill.  From 
its  crest  good  observation  was  obtained  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  if,  when  we  had  to  attack  the  main  Jeru- 
salem defences  on  December  8,  the  summit  of  Nebi 
Samwil  had  still  been  in  Turkish  hands,  not  a  move- 
ment of  troops  as  they  issued  from  the  bed  of  the 
wadi  Surar  and  climbed  the  rough  face  of  the  western 
buttresses  of  Jerusalem  would  have  escaped  notice. 
The  brigade  won  the  hill  and  held  it  just  before  mid- 
night, but  the  battle  for  the  crest  ebbed  and  flowed 
for  days  with  terrific  violence,  w^e  never  giving  up 
possession  of  it,  though  it  was  stormed  again  and 
again  by  an  enemy  who,  it  is  fair  to  admit,  displayed 
fine  courage  and  not  a  little  skill.  That  hill-top  at 
this  period  had  to  submit  to  a  thunderous  bombard- 
ment, and  the  Mosque  of  Nebi  Samwil  became  a 
battered  shell.  Here  are  supposed  to  he  the  remains 
of  the  Prophet  Samuel.  The  tradition  may  or  may 
not  be  well  founded,  but  at  any  rate  Mahomedans 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  143 

and  Christians  alike  have  held  the  place  in  venera- 
tion for  centuries.  The  Turk  paid  no  regard  to  the 
sanctity  of  the  Mosque,  and,  as  it  was  of  military 
importance  to  him  that  we  should  not  hold  it,  he 
sheUed  it  daily  with  all  his  available  guns,  utterly 
destroying  it.  There  may  be  cases  where  the  Turks 
will  deny  that  they  damaged  a  Holy  Place.  They 
could  not  hide  their  guilt  on  Nebi  Samwil.  I  was  at 
pains  to  examine  the  Mosque  and  the  immediate 
surroundings,  and  the  photographs  I  took  are  proof 
that  the  wreckage  of  this  church  came  from  artillery 
fired  from  the  east  and  north,  the  direction  of  the 
Turkish  gmi-pits.  It  is  possible  we  are  apt  to  be  a 
little  too  sentimental  about  the  destruction  in  war  of 
a  place  of  worship.  If  a  general  has  reason  to  think 
that  a  tower  or  minaret  is  being  used  as  an  observa- 
tion post,  or  that  a  church  or  mosque  is  sheltering 
a  body  of  troops,  there  are  those  who  hold  that  he 
is  justified  in  deliberately  planning  its  destruction, 
but  here  was  a  sacred  building  with  associations 
held  in  reverence  by  aU  classes  and  creeds  in  a  land 
where  these  things  are  counted  high,  and  to  have 
set  about  wrecking  it  was  a  crime.  The  German 
influence  over  the  Turk  asserted  itseK,  as  it  did  in 
the  heavy  fighting  after  we  had  taken  Jerusalem. 
We  had  batteries  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  the 
Turk  searched  for  them,  but  they  never  fired  one 
round  at  the  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria  Hospice 
near  by.  That  had  been  used  as  Falkenha3ni's 
headquarters.  General  Chetwode  occupied  it  as  his 
Corps  Headquarters  soon  after  he  entered  Jerusalem. 
There  was  a  wireless  installation  and  the  Turks  could 
see  the  coming  and  going  of  the  Corps'  motor  cars. 
I  have  watched  operations  from  a  summer-house  in 
the  gardens,  and  no  enemy  plane  could  pass  over 
the    building    without   discovering    the    purpose    to 


144  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

which  it  was  put.  And  there  were  spies.  But  not 
one  shell  fell  within  the  precincts  of  the  hospice 
because  it  was  a  German  building,  containing  the 
statues  of  the  Kaiser  and  Kaiserin,  and  (oh,  the  taste 
of  the  Hun !)  with  effigies  of  the  Kaiser  and  his  consort 
painted  in  the  roof  of  the  chapel  not  far  from  a  picture 
of  the  Saviour.  Britam  is  rebuilding  what  the  Turks 
destro3^ed,  and  there  will  soon  arise  on  Nebi  Samwil 
a  new  mosque  to  show  Mahomedans  that  tolerance 
and  freedom  abide  under  our  flag. 

\Mien  the  75th  Division  were  making  the  attack 
on  Nebi  Samwil  the  52nd  Division  put  all  the  men 
they  could  spare  on  to  the  task  of  making  roads. 
To  be  out  of  the  firing  line  did  not  mean  rest.  In  fact, 
as  far  as  physical  exertion  went,  it  was  easier  to  be 
fighting  than  in  reserve.  From  sunrise  till  dark  and 
often  later  the  roadmakers  were  at  work  with  pick, 
shovel,  and  crowbar,  and  the  tools  were  not  too  many 
for  the  job.  The  gunners  joined  in  the  work  and 
managed  to  take  their  batteries  over  the  roads  long 
before  they  were  considered  suitable  for  other  wheels. 
The  battery  commanders  sometimes  selected  firing 
positions  which  appeared  quite  inaccessible  to  any  one 
save  a  mountain  climber,  but  the  guns  got  there  and 
earned  much  credit  for  their  teams. 

On  the  22nd  Nebi  Samwil  was  thrice  attacked. 
British  and  Indian  troops  were  holding  the  hill, 
but  the  Turks  were  on  the  northern  slopes.  They 
were,  in  fact,  on  strong  positions  on  three  sides,  and 
from  El  Burj,  a  prominent  hill  1200  yards  to  the 
south-east,  and  from  the  wooded  valley  of  the  wadi 
Hannina,  they  could  advance  with  plenty  of  cover. 
There  was  much  dead  ground,  stone  walls  enclosed 
small  patches  of  cultivation,  and  when  troops  halted 
under  the  terraces  on  the  slopes  no  gun  or  rifle  fire 
could  reach  them.     The  enemy  could  thus  get  quite 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  145 

close  to  our  positions  before  we  could  deal  with  them, 
and  their  attacks  were  also  favoured  by  an  intense 
volume  of  artillery  Bie  from  5'9's  placed  about  the 
Jerusalem-Nablus  road  and,  as  some  people  in  Jeru- 
salem afterwards  told  me,  from  the  Mount  of  Olives. 
The  attackers  possessed  the  advantage  that  our  guns 
could  not  concentrate  on  them  while  the  attack  was 
preparing,  and  could  only  put  in  a  torrent  of  fire  when 
the  enemy  infantry  were  getting  near  their  goal. 
These  three  attacks  were  delivered  with  the  utmost 
ferocity,  and  were  pressed  home  each  time  with  de- 
termination. But  the  75th  Division  held  on  with 
a  stubbornness  which  was  beyond  praise,  and  the 
harder  the  Turk  tried  to  reach  the  summit  the  tighter 
became  the  defence.  Each  attack  was  repulsed  with 
very  heavy  losses,  and  after  his  third  failure  the 
enemy  did  not  put  in  his  infantry  again  that  day. 

The  75th  Division  endeavoured  to  reach  El  Jib, 
a  village  on  the  hill  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  north  of 
Nebi  Samwil.  The  possession  of  El  Jib  by  us  would 
have  attracted  some  of  the  enemy  opposing  the 
advance  of  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  on  the 
left,  but  not  only  was  the  position  strongly  defended 
in  the  village  and  on  the  high  ground  on  the  north 
and  north-west,  but  our  infantry  could  not  break 
down  the  opposition  behind  the  sangars  and  boulders 
on  the  northern  side  of  Nebi  Samwil.  The  attack 
had  to  be  given  up,  but  we  made  some  progress  in 
this  mountainous  sector,  as  the  52nd  Division  had 
pushed  out  from  Dukku  to  Beit  Izza,  between  3000 
and  4000  yards  from  El  Jib,  and  by  driving  the  enemy 
from  this  strong  village  they  made  it  more  comfort- 
able for  the  troops  in  Biddu  and  protected  the  Nebi 
Samwil  flank,  the  securing  of  which  in  those  days 
of  bitter  fighting  was  an  important  factor.  It  was 
evident  from  what  was  happening  on  this  front. 


146  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

not  only  where  two  divisions  of  infantry  had  to  strain 
every  nerve  to  hold  on  to  what  they  had  got  but 
where  the  Yeomanry  JNlounted  Division  were  batthng 
against  enormous  odds  in  the  worse  coimtry  to  the 
north-west,  that  the  Turks  were  not  going  to  allow 
us  to  get  to  the  Nablus  road  without  making  a  direct 
attack  on  the  Jerusalem  defences.  They  out- 
numbered ua,  had  a  large  preponderance  in  guns, 
were  near  their  base,  and  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  prepared  positions  and  a  comparatively  easy 
access  to  supplies  and  ammunition.  Everything  was 
in  their  favour  down  to  the  very  state  of  the  weather. 
But  our  army  struggled  on  against  all  the  big  obstacles. 
On  the  23rd  the  75th  Division  renewed  their  attack 
on  El  Jib,  but  although  the  men  showed  the  dash 
which  throughout  characterised  the  Division,  it  had 
to  be  stopped.  The  garrison  of  El  Jib  had  been 
reinforced,  and  the  enemy  held  the  woods,  wadi 
banks,  and  sangars  in  greater  strength  than  before, 
while  the  artillery  fire  was  extremely  heavy.  Not 
only  w^as  the  75th  Division  tired  with  ceaseless 
fighting,  but  the  losses  they  had  sustained  since 
they  left  the  Plain  of  Ajalon  had  been  substantial, 
and  the  52nd  Division  took  over  from  them  that 
night  to  prepare  for  another  effort  on  the  following 
day.  The  Scots  were  no  more  successful.  They 
made  simultaneous  attacks  on  the  northern  and 
southern  ends  of  Nebi  Samwil,  and  a  brigade  worked 
up  from  Beit  Izza  to  a  ridge  north-west  of  El  Jib. 
Two  magnificent  attempts  were  made  to  get  into 
the  enemy's  positions,  but  they  failed.  The  officer 
casualties  were  heavy ;  some  companies  had  no 
officers,  and  the  troops  were  worn  out  by  great 
exertions  and  privations  in  the  bleak  hills.  The  two 
divisions  had  been  fighting  hard  for  over  three  weeks, 
they   had    marched   long   distances   on   hard   food. 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  147 

which  at  the  finish  was  not  too  plentiful,  and  the 
sudden  violent  change  in  the  weather  conditions 
made  it  desirable  that  the  men  should  get  to  an  issue 
of  warmer  clothing.  General  Bulfin  reahsed  it  would 
be  risking  heavy  losses  to  ask  his  troops  to  make 
another  immediate  effort  against  a  numerically 
stronger  enemy  in  positions  of  his  own  choice,  and 
he  therefore  applied  to  General  Allenby  that  the 
XXth  Corps — the  60th  Division  was  already  at 
Latron  attached  to  the  XXIst  Corps — might  take 
over  the  line.  The  Commander-in-Chief  that  even- 
ing ordered  the  attack  on  the  enemy's  positions  to 
be  discontinued  until  the  arrival  of  fresh  troops. 
During  the  next  day  or  two  the  enemy's  artillery 
was  as  active  as  hitherto,  but  the  punishment  he 
had  received  in  his  attacks  made  him  pause,  and  there 
were  only  small  haK-hearted  attempts  to  reach  our 
line.  They  were  aU  beaten  off  by  infantry  fire, 
and  the  reliefs  of  the  various  brigades  of  the  XXIst 
Corps  were  complete  by  November  28.  It  had  not 
been  given  to  the  XXIst  Corps  to  obtain  the  dis- 
tinction of  driving  the  Turks  for  ever  from  Jerusalem, 
but  the  work  of  the  Corps  in  the  third  and  fourth 
weeks  of  November  had  laid  the  foundation  on  which 
victory  finally  rested.  The  grand  efforts  of  the 
52nd  and  75th  Divisions  in  rushing  over  the  foothills 
of  the  Shephelah  on  to  the  Judean  heights,  in  getting 
a  footing  on  some  of  the  most  prominent  hills  within 
three  days  of  leaving  the  plain,  and  in  holding  on 
with  grim  tenacity  to  what  they  had  gained,  enabled 
the  Commander-in-Chief  to  start  on  a  new  plan  by 
which  to  take  the  Holy  City  in  one  stride,  so  to  speak. 
The  52nd  and  75th  Divisions  and,  as  wiU  be  seen, 
the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  as  well,  share  the 
glory  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  with  the  53rd, 
60th,  and  74th  Divisions  who  were  in  at  the  finish. 


148  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

The  fighting  of  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division 
on  the  left  of  the  52nd  was  part  and  parcel  of  the 
XXIst  Corps'  effort  to  get  to  the  Nablus  road.  It 
was  epic  fighting,  and  I  have  not  described  it  when 
narrating  the  infantry's  daily  work  because  it  is 
best  told  in  a  connected  story.  If  the  foot  sloggers 
had  a  bad  time,  the  conditions  were  infinitely  worse 
for  mounted  troops.  The  ground  was  as  steep,  but 
the  hillsides  were  rougher,  the  wadis  narrower,  the 
patches  of  open  flat  fewer  than  in  the  districts  where 
infantry  operated.  So  bad  indeed  was  the  country 
that  horses  were  an  encumbrance,  and  most  of  them 
were  returned  to  the  plain.  After  a  time  horse 
artillery  could  proceed  no  farther,  and  the  only  guns 
the  yeomanry  had  with  them  were  those  of  a  section 
of  the  Hong  Kong  and  Singapore  mountain  battery, 
manned  by  Sildis,  superb  fellows  whose  service  in 
the  Eg3rptian  deserts  and  in  Palestine  was  worthy 
of  a  martial  race.  But  their  little  guns  w^ere  out- 
ranged by  the  Turkish  artillery,  and  though  they 
were  often  right  up  with  the  mounted  men  they  could 
not  get  near  the  enem}^  batteries.  The  supply  of 
the  division  in  the  nooks  and  crannies  where  there 
was  not  so  much  as  a  goat-path  was  a  desperate 
problem,  and  could  not  have  been  solved  without 
the  aid  of  many  hundreds  of  pack-donkeys  which 
dumped  their  loads  of  supplies  and  ammunition  on 
the  hiUsides,  leaving  it  to  be  carried  forward  by  hand. 
The  division  were  fighting  almost  continually  for  a 
fortnight.  They  got  farther  forward  than  the  in- 
fantry and  met  the  full  force  of  an  opposition  which, 
if  not  stronger  than  that  about  Nebi  Samwil,  w^as 
extremely  violent,  and  they  came  back  to  a  line 
which  could  be  supplied  with  less  difficulty  when  it 
was  apparent  that  the  Turks  were  not  going  to  accept 
the    opportunity    General    Allenby   gave    them    to 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  149 

withdraw  their  army  from  Jerusalem.  The  Division's 
most  bitter  struggle  was  about  the  Beth-horons, 
on  the  very  scene  w^here  Joshua,  on  a  lengthened 
day,  threw  the  Canaanites  off  the  Shephelah. 

The  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  received  orders 
on  the  afternoon  of  November  17  to  move  across 
Ajalon  into  the  foothills  and  to  press  forward  straight 
on  Bireh  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Their  trials  they 
began  immediately.  One  regiment  of  the  8th  Brigade 
occupied  Annabeh,  and  a  regiment  of  the  22nd 
Brigade  got  within  a  couple  of  miles  of  Nalin,  where  a 
weU-concealed  body  of  the  enemy  held  it  up.  Soon 
the  report  came  in  that  the  country  was  impassable 
for  wheels.  By  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  the 
8th  Brigade  were  at  Beit  ur  el  Foka — Beth-horon 
the  Upper — a  height  where  fig  trees  and  pomegranates 
flourish.  Eastwards  the  country  faUs  away  and 
there  are  several  ragged  narrow  valleys  between 
some  tree-topped  ridges  till  the  eye  meets  a  sheikh's 
tomb  on  the  Zeitun  ridge,  standing  midway  between 
Foka  and  Beitunia,  which  rears  a  proud  and  pictur- 
esque head  to  bar  the  way  to  Bireh.  The  wadis 
cross  the  valleys  wherever  torrent  water  can  tear  up 
rock,  but  the  yeomanry  found  their  beds  smoother 
going,  filled  though  they  were  with  boulders,  than  the 
hill  slopes,  which  generally  rose  in  steep  gradients 
from  the  sides  of  watercourses.  During  every  step 
of  the  way  across  this  saw-toothed  country  one 
appreciated  to  the  full  the  defenders'  advantage.  If 
dead  ground  hid  you  from  one  hill- top  enemy  marks- 
men could  get  you  from  another,  and  it  was  impos- 
sible for  the  division  to  proceed  unless  it  got  the 
enemy  out  of  all  the  hills  on  its  line  of  advance. 
The  infantry  on  the  right  were  very  helpful,  but  the 
brigade  on  the  left  flank  had  many  difficulties,  which 
were  not  lessened  when,  on  the  second  day  of  the 


150  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

movement,  all  Royal  Horse  Artillery  gmis  and  all 
wheels  had  to  be  sent  back  owing  to  the  bad  comitry. 
Up  to  this  point  the  fight  against  Natm^e  was  more 
arduous   than    against   the   enemy.     Thenceforward 
the  enemy  became  more  vigilant  and  active,  and  the 
hills  and  stony  hollows  more  trying.     All   available 
men  were  set  to  work  to  makey  a  road  for  the  Hong 
Kong  and  Singapore  gunners,  a  battery  which  would 
always  get  as  far  into  the  momitains  as  any  in  the 
King's  Army.     The  road  parties  laboured  night  and 
day,  but  it  was  only  by  the  greatest  exertions  that 
the  battery  could  be  got  through.     The  heavy  rain 
of  the  19th  added  to  the  troubles.     The  8th  Brigade, 
having  occupied  Beit  ur  et  Tahta  (Beth-horon  the 
Lower)  early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  proceeded 
along  the  wadi    Sunt  imtil    a  force  on  the  heights 
held  them  up,  and  they  had  to  remain  in  the  wadi 
while  the  6th  Mounted  Brigade  turned  the  enemy's 
flank  at  Foka.      The  22nd  Mounted  Brigade  on  the 
north  met  with  the  same  trouble — every  hill  had  to 
be  won  and   picqueted — and  they  could   not  make 
Ain  Arik  that  day.     As  soon  as  it  was  light  on  the 
following  morning  the  6th  Mounted  Brigade  brushed 
away  opposition  in  Foka  and  entered  the  village, 
pushing  on  thence  towards  Beitunia.     The  advance 
was  slow  and  hazardous ;  every  hill  had  to  be  searched, 
a  task  difficult  of  accomplishment  by  reason  of  the 
innumerable  caves  and  boulders  capable  of  sheltering 
snipers.     The  Turk  had  become  an  adept  at  sniping, 
and  left  parties  in  the  hills  to  carry  on  by  themselves. 
When  the  6tli  Brigade  got  within  two  miles  of  the 
south-west  of  Beitunia  they  were  opposed  by  5000 
Turks  weU  screened  by  woods  on  the  slopes  and  the 
wadi.     Both   sides   strove   all  day   without  gaining 
ground.     Divisional  headquarters  were  only  a  short 
distance  behind  the  6th,  and  the  8th  Brigade  was 


JNTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  151 

moved  up  into  the  same  area  to  be  ready  to  assist. 
By  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  22nd  Brigade 
got  into  Ain  Arik  and  found  a  strong  force  of  the 
enemy  holding  Beitunia  and  the  hill  of  Muntar,  a 
few  hundred  yards  to  the  north  of  it,  thus  barring 
the  way  to  Ramallah  and  Bireh.  Rain  fell  copiously 
and  the  wind  was  chilly.  After  a  miserable  night  in 
bivouac,  the  6th  Brigade  was  astir  before  dayhght 
on  the  21st.  They  were  fighting  at  dawn,  and  in 
the  half  light  compelled  the  enemy  to  retire  to  within 
half  a  mile  of  Beitunia.  A  few  prisoners  were  rounded 
up,  and  these  told  the  brigadier  that  3000  Turks  were 
holding  Beitunia  with  four  batteries  of  field  guns  and 
four  heavy  camel  guns.  That  estimate  was  found 
to  be  approximately  accurate.  A  regiment  of  the 
8th  Brigade  sent  to  reinforce  the  6th  Brigade  on  their 
left  got  within  800  yards  of  the  hill,  when  the  gims 
about  Bireh  and  Bamallah  opened  on  them  and 
they  were  compelled  to  withdraw,  and  a  Turkish 
coimter -attack  forced  our  forward  line  back  slightly 
in  the  afternoon.  The  enemy  had  a  plentiful  supply 
of  ammunition  and  made  a  prodigal  use  of  it.  While 
continuing  to  shell  fiercely  he  put  more  infantry  into 
his  fighting  line,  and  as  we  had  only  1200  rifles  and 
four  mountain  guns,  which  the  enemy's  artillery 
outranged,  it  was  clear  we  could  not  dislodge  him  from 
the  Beitunia  crest.  The  22nd  Mounted  Brigade  had 
made  an  attempt  to  get  to  Ramallah  from  Ain  Arik, 
but  the  opposition  from  Muntar  and  the  high  ground 
to  the  east  was  much  too  severe.  Our  casualties  had 
not  been  inconsiderable,  and  in  face  of  the  enemy's 
superiority  in  numbers  and  guns  and  the  strength  of 
his  position  it  would  have  been  dangerous  and  useless 
to  make  a  further  attack.  General  Barrow  therefore 
decided  to  withdraw  to  Foka  during  the  night.  All 
horses  had  been  sent  back  in  the  course  of  the  after- 


152  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

noon,  and  when  the  hght  failed  the  retirement  began. 
The  wounded  were  first  evacuated,  and  they,  poor 
fellows,  had  a  bad  time  of  it  getting  back  to  Foka 
in  the  dark  over  four  miles  of  rock-strewn  country. 
It  was  not  till  two  o'clock  on  the  following  morning 
that  all  the  convoys  of  wounded  passed  through 
Foka,  but  by  that  time  the  track  to  Tahta  had  been 
made  into  passable  order,  and  some  of  these  helpless 
men  were  out  of  the  hills  soon  after  day  hght,  journey- 
ing m  comparative  ease  in  hght  motor  ambulances 
over  the  Plain  of  Ajalon. 

The  arrangements  for  the  withdrawal  worked 
admirably.  The  8th  Mounted  Brigade,  covering  the 
retirement  so  successfully  that  the  enemy  knew 
nothing  about  it,  held  on  in  front  of  Beitunia  till 
three  o'clock,  reaching  Foka  before  dawn,  while  the 
22nd  Brigade  remained  covering  the  northern  flank 
till  almost  midnight,  when  it  fell  back  to  Tahta. 
The  Division's  casualties  during  the  day  were  300 
killed  and  wounded.  We  still  held  the  Zeitun  ridge, 
observation  was  kept  on  Ain  Arik  from  El  Hafy  by 
one  regiment,  and  troops  were  out  on  many  parts 
north  and  east  of  Tahta  and  Foka. 

On  the  next  two  days  there  was  nothing  beyond 
enemy  sheUing  and  patrol  encounters.  On  the  24th 
demonstrations  were  made  against  Beitunia  to  support 
the  left  of  the  52nd  Division's  attack  on  El  Jib,  but 
the  enemy  was  too  strong  to  permit  of  the  yeomanry 
proceeding  more  than  two  miles  east  of  Foka.  The 
roadmakers  had  done  an  enormous  amount  of  navvy 
work  on  the  track  between  Foka  and  Tahta.  They 
had  laboured  without  cessation,  breakmg  up  rock, 
levering  out  boulders  with  crowbars,  and  doing  a  sort 
of  rough-and-ready  levelling,  and  by  the  night  of  the 
24th  the  track  was  reported  passable  for  guns.  The 
Leicester  battery  R.H.A.  came  along  it  next  morning 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  153 

without  difficulty.  I  did  not  see  the  road  till  some 
time  later  and  its  surface  had  then  been  considerably 
improved,  but  even  then  one  felt  the  drivers  of  those 
gun  teams  had  achieved  the  almost  impossible.  The 
Leicester  battery  arrived  at  Foka  just  in  time  to 
unHmber  and  get  into  action  behind  a  fig  orchard 
in  order  to  disperse  a  couple  of  companies  of  enemy 
infantry  which  were  working  round  the  left  flank 
of  the  Staffordshire  Yeomanry  at  Khurbet  Meita, 
below  the  Zeitun  height.  The  enemy  brought  up 
reinforcements  and  made  an  attack  in  the  late  after- 
noon, but  this  was  also  broken  up.  The  Berkshu-e 
battery  reached  Tahta  the  following  day  and,  with 
the  Leicester  gunners,  answered  the  Turks'  long- 
range  shelling  throughout  the  day  and  night.  On 
the  27th  the  enemy  made  a  determined  attempt  to 
compel  us  to  withdraw  from  the  Zeitun  ridge,  which 
is  an  isolated  hill  commanding  the  vaUeys  on  both 
sides.  The  6th  Mounted  Brigade  furnished  the 
garrison  of  3  officers  and  60  men,  who  occupied  a  stone 
building  on  the  summit.  Against  them  the  enemy 
put  600  infantry  with  machine  guns,  and  they  also 
brought  a  heavy  artillery  fire  to  bear  on  the  building 
from  Beitunia,  4000  yards  away.  The  garrison  put 
up  a  most  gallant  defence.  They  were  compelled 
to  leave  the  building  because  the  enemy  practically 
destroyed  it  by  gunfire  and  the  infantry  almost 
surrounded  the  hill,  but  they  obtained  cover  on  the 
boulder-strewn  sides  of  the  hill  and  held  their  assail- 
ants at  bay.  At  dusk,  although  the  garrison  was 
reduced  to  2  officers  and  26  men,  they  refused  to  give 
ground.  They  were  instructed  to  hold  on  as  long 
as  possible,  and  a  reinforcement  of  50  men  was  sent 
up  after  dark — all  that  could  be  spared,  as  the  division 
was  holding  a  series  of  hills  ten  miles  long  and  every 
rifle  was  in  the  line.     This  front  was  being  threatened 


154  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

at  several  points,  and  the  activity  of  patrols  at  Deir 
Ibzia  and  north  of  it  suggested  that  the  enemy  was 
trying  to  get  into  the  gap  of  five  miles  between  the 
yeomanry  and  the  right  of  the  54th  Division  which 
was  now  at  Shilta.  It  was  an  anxious  night,  and 
No.  2  Light  Armoured  Car  battery  was  kept  west 
of  Tahta  to  enfilade  the  enemy  with  machine  guns 
should  he  appear  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Suffa.  The 
7th  Mounted  Brigade  was  ordered  up  to  reinforce. 
The  fresh  troops  arrived  at  dawn  on  the  28th,  and 
had  no  sooner  got  into  position  at  Hellabi,  haK  a  mile 
north-west  of  Tahta,  than  their  left  flank  was  attacked 
by  1000  Turks  with  machine  guns.  The  155th 
Brigade  of  the  52nd  Division  was  on  its  way  through 
Beit  Likia  to  rest  after  its  hard  work  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Nebi  Samwil  and  El  Jib,  and  it  was  ordered 
up  to  assist.  At  midday  the  brigade  attacked  Suffa 
but  could  not  take  it.  The  Scots,  however,  prevented 
the  Turks  breaking  round  the  left  flank  of  the  yeo- 
manry. The  post  which  had  held  Zeitun  so  bravely 
was  brought  into  Foka  under  cover  of  the  Leicester 
and  Berkshire  batteries'  fire,  and  very  heavy  fighting 
continued  all  day  long  on  the  Foka-Tahta-Suffa  line, 
but  though  the  enemy  employed  3000  infantry  in 
his  attack,  and  had  four  batteries  of  77's  and  four 
heavy  camel  guns,  he  was  unsuccessful.  At  dusk 
the  attack  on  Tahta,  which  had  been  under  shell-fire 
all  day,  was  beaten  off  and  the  enemy  w  as  compelled 
to  withdraw  one  mile.  Suffa  was  still  his,  but  his 
advanced  troops  on  the  cairn  south  of  that  place 
had  suffered  heavily  during  the  day  at  the  hands  of 
the  7th  Mounted  Brigade,  who  several  times  drove 
them  off.  Some  howitzers  of  the  52nd  Division 
were  hauled  over  the  hills  in  the  afternoon  and 
shelled  the  cairn  so  heavily  that  the  post  sought 
shelter  in  Suffa.     To  the  south-east  of  the  hne  of 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  155 

attack  the  Turks  were  doing  their  utmost  to  secure 
Foka.  They  came  again  and  again,  and  their  attacks 
were  always  met  and  broken  with  the  bayonet  by 
yeomen  who  were  becoming  fatigued  by  continuous 
fighting,  and  advancing  and  retiring  in  this  terrible 
country.  They  could  have  held  the  place  that  night, 
but  there  was  no  possibility  of  sending  them  rein- 
forcements, and  as  the  enemy  had  been  seen  working 
round  to  the  south  of  the  village  with  machine  guns 
it  might  have  been  impossible  to  get  them  out  in 
the  morning.  General  Barrow  accordingly  withdrew 
the  Foka  garrison  to  a  new  position  on  a  wooded 
ridge  half-way  between  that  place  and  Tahta,  and 
the  enemy  made  no  attempt  to  get  beyond  Foka. 
Late  at  night  he  got  so  close  to  Tahta  from  the  north 
that  he  threw  bombs  at  our  sangars,  but  he  was 
driven  off. 

During  the  evening  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Divi- 
sion received  welcome  reinforcements.  The  4th  Aus- 
trahan  Light  Horse  Brigade  were  placed  in  support 
of  the  6th  Mounted  Brigade  and  a  battalion  of  the  156th 
Infantry  Brigade  assisted  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade. 

On  the  29th  the  Turks  made  their  biggest  effort 
to  break  through  the  important  Hne  we  held,  and 
all  day  they  persisted  with  the  greatest  determination 
in  an  attack  on  our  left.  At  midnight  they  had 
again  occupied  the  cairn  south  of  Suffa,  and  remained 
there  till  8  a.m.,  when  the  268th  Brigade  Royal  Field 
Artillery  crowned  the  hill  with  a  tremendous  burst 
of  fire  and  drove  them  off.  The  machine-gunners 
of  the  7th  Mounted  Brigade  caught  the  force  as  it 
was  retiring  and  inflicted  many  casualties.  The 
Turks  came  back  again  and  again,  and  the  cairn 
repeatedly  changed  hands,  until  at  last  it  was  un- 
occupied by  either  side.  Towards  dusk  the  Turks' 
attacks  petered  out,   though  the  guns  and  snipers 


156  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

continued  busy,  and  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division 
was  relieved  by  the  231st  Infantry  Brigade  of  the 
74th  Division  and  the  157th  Infantry  Brigade  of  the 
52nd  Division,  the  Austrahan  Mounted  Division 
ultimately  takhig  over  the  left  of  the  Hne  which 
XXth  Corps  troops  occupied. 

The  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  had  made  a 
grand  light  against  a  vastly  superior  force  of  the 
enemy  in  a  country  absolutely  unfavourable  to  the 
movement  of  mounted  troops.  They  never  had  more 
than  1200  rifles  holding  a  far-flung  barren  and  bleak 
line,  and  the  fine  quahties  of  vigorous  and  swift 
attack,  unfaltering  disciphne  and  heroic  stubbornness 
in  defence  under  all  conditions,  get  their  proof  in 
the  499  casualties  incurred  by  the  Division  in  the 
hill  fighting,  exclusive  of  those  sustained  by  the  7th 
Mounted  Brigade  which  reinforced  them.  The  Divi- 
sion was  made  up  entirely  of  first-line  yeomanry 
regiments  whose  members  had  become  efiicient 
soldiers  in  their  spare  time,  when  politicians  were 
prattling  about  peace  and  deluding  parties  into  the 
behef  that  there  was  Uttle  necessity  to  prepare  for 
war.  Their  patriotism  and  example  gave  a  tone  to 
the  drafts  sent  out  to  replace  casualties  and  the 
wastage  of  war,  and  were  a  credit  to  the  stock  from 
which  they  sprang. 

While  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  had  been 
fighting  a  great  battle  alongside  the  infantry  of  the 
XXIst  Corps  in  the  hills,  the  remainder  of  the  troops 
of  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps  were  employed  on  the 
plain  and  in  the  coastal  sector,  hammering  the 
enemy  hard  and  establishing  a  line  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Auja  through  some  rising  ground  across 
the  plain.  They  were  busily  engaged  clearing  the 
enemy  out  of  some  of  the  well-ordered  villages  east 
of  the  sandy  belt,  several  of  them  German  colonies 


INTO  THE  JUDEAN  HILLS  157 

showing  signs  of  prosperity  and  more  regard  for 
cleanliness  and  sanitation  than  other  of  the  small 
centres  of  population  hereabouts.  The  village  of 
Sarona,  north  of  Jaffa,  an  almost  exclusively  German 
settlement,  was  better  arranged  than  any  others, 
but  Wilhelma  was  a  good  second. 

The  most  important  move  was  on  November  24, 
when,  with  a  view  to  making  the  enemy  believe  an 
attack  was  intended  against  his  right  flank,  the 
New  Zealand  Mounted  Kifles  Brigade  was  sent  across 
the  river  Auja  to  seize  the  villages  of  Sheikh  Muannis 
near  the  sea,  and  Hadrah  farther  inland,  two  com- 
panies of  infantry  holding  each  of  the  two  crossings. 
The  enemy  became  alarmed  and  attacked  the  cavalry 
in  force  early  next  morning,  1000  infantry  marching 
on  Muannis.  The  Hadrah  force  was  driven  back 
across  the  Auja  and  the  two  companies  of  infantry 
covering  the  crossing  suffered  heavily,  having  no 
support  from  artiUery,  which  had  been  sent  into 
bivouac.  Some  of  the  men  had  to  swim  the  river. 
A  bridge  of  boats  had  been  built  at  Jerisheh  mill 
during  the  night,  and  by  this  means  men  crossed  until 
Muamiis  was  occupied  by  the  enemy  later  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  cavalry  crossed  the  ford  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Auja  at  the  gallop.  The  l/4th  Essex  held  on  to 
Hadrah  until  five  out  of  six  officers  and  about  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  men  became  casualties.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  minor  fighting  on  this  section  of  the 
front,  and  in  a  number  of  patrol  encounters  the 
resource  of  the  Australian  Light  Horse  added  to 
their  bag  of  prisoners  and  to  the  Army's  store  of 
information.  Nothing  further  of  importance  oc- 
curred in  this  neighbourhood  until  we  seized  the 
crossings  of  the  Auja  and  the  high  ground  north  of 
the  river  a  week  before  the  end  of  the  year. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY 

The  impossibility  of  getting  across  the  road  north 
of  Jerusalem  by  makhig  a  wide  sweep  over  the  Judean 
hills  caused  a  new  plan  to  be  put  into  execution. 
This  necessitated  a  direct  attack  on  the  well-prepared 
system  of  defences  on  the  hills  protecting  Jerusalem 
from  the  west,  but  it  did  not  entail  any  weakening  of 
General  Allenby's  determination  that  there  should 
be  no  fighting  by  British  troops  in  and  about  the 
precincts  of  the  Holy  City.  That  resolve  was  un- 
shaken and  unshakable.  When  a  new  scheme  was 
prepared  by  the  XXth  Corps,  the  question  was  put 
whether  the  Turks  could  be  attacked  at  Lifta,  which 
was  part  of  their  system.  Now  Lifta  is  a  native 
village  on  one  of  the  hill-faces  to  the  west  of  Jerusalem, 
about  a  mile  from  the  Holy  City's  walls,  and,  as  it  is 
not  even  connected  by  a  road  with  any  of  the  various 
colonies  forming  the  suburbs  of  Jerusalem,  could 
not  by  any  stretch  of  imagination  be  described  by  a 
Hun  propaganda  merchant  as  part  of  Jerusalem. 
I  happen  to  know  that  on  the  26th  November  the 
Commander-in-Chief  sent  this  communication  to 
General  Chetwode :  '  I  place  no  restriction  upon 
you  in  respect  of  any  operation  which  you  may 
consider  necessary  against  Lifta  or  the  enemy's  lines 
to  the  south  of  it,  except  that  on  no  account  is  any 
risk  to  be  run  of  bringing  the  City  of  Jerusalem  or  its 
immediate  environs  within  the  area  of  operations.' 
The  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  that  order  was 

158 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY   159 

carried  out,  and  in  the  very  full  orders  and  notes 
on  the  operations  issued  before  the  victorious  attack 
was  made,  there  is  the  most  elaborate  detail  regarding 
the  different  objectives  of  divisions  and  brigades, 
and  scrupulous  care  was  taken  that  no  advance 
should  be  made  against  any  resisting  enemy  within 
the  boundaries  not  only  of  the  Holy  City  but  of  the 
suburbs.  We  shall  see  how  thoroughly  these  in- 
structions were  followed. 

When  it  became  obvious  that  Jerusalem  could  not 
be  secured  without  the  adoption  of  a  deliberate 
method  of  attack,  there  were  many  matters  requiring 
the  anxious  consideration  of  the  XXth  Corps  staff. 
They  took  over  from  XXIst  Corps  at  a  time  when 
the  enemy  was  stiU  very  active  against  the  hne 
which  they  had  gained  under  very  hard  conditions. 
The  XXth  Corps,  beginning  with  the  advantage  of 
positions  which  the  XXIst  Corps  had  won,  had  to 
prepare  to  meet  the  enemy  with  equal  gun  power 
and  more  than  equality  in  rifle  strength.  We  had  the 
men  and  the  guns  in  the  country,  but  to  get  them  into 
the  line  and  to  keep  them  suppHed  was  a  problem 
of  considerable  magnitude.  Time  was  an  important 
factor.  The  rains  had  begun.  The  spells  of  fine 
weather  were  getting  shorter,  and  after  each  period 
of  rain  the  sodden  state  of  the  country  affected  all 
movement.  To  bring  up  supphes  we  could  only  rely 
on  road  traffic  from  Gaza  and  Deir  Sineid,  and  the 
Hght  soil  had  become  hopelessly  cut  up  during  the 
rains.  The  main  hne  of  railway  was  not  to  be 
opened  to  Mejdel  till  December  8,  and  the  captured 
Turkish  line  between  Deir  Sineid  and  Junction 
Station  had  a  maximum  capacity  of  one  hundred 
tons  of  ordnance  stores  a  day,  and  these  had  to  be 
moved  forward  again  by  road.  An  advance  must 
slow  down  while   communications  were   improved. 


160  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

The  XXth  Corps  inherited  from  the  XXIst  Corps  the 
track  between  Beit  Likia  and  Biddu  which  had  been 
prepared  with  an  infinity  of  trouble  and  exertion, 
but  this  and  the  main  Latron-Jerusalem  road  were 
the  only  highways  available. 

General  Chetwode's  Corps  reheved  General  Bulfin's 
Corps  during  the  day  of  November  28,  and  viewed 
in  the  most  favourable  light  it  appeared  that  there 
must  be  at  least  one  wreck's  work  on  the  roads  before 
it  would  be  possible  for  heavy  and  field  batteries,  in 
sufficient  strength  to  support  an  attack,  to  be  got 
into  the  mountains.     A  new  road  was  begun  between 
Latron  and  Beit  Likia,  and  another  from  Enab  to 
Kubeibeh,  and  these,  even  in  a  rough  state  of  com- 
pletion, eased  the  situation  very  considerably.     An 
enormous  amount  of  labour  was  devoted  to  the  main 
road.     The  surface  was  in  bad  order  and  was  getting 
worse  every  hour  with  the  passage  of  lorry  traffic. 
It  became  full  of  holes,  and  the  available  metal  in 
the  neighbourhood  was  a  friable  limestone  which, 
under  heavy  pressure  during  rains,  was  ground  into 
the  consistency  of  a  thick  cream.     Pioneer  battalions 
were  reinforced  by  large  parties  of  Egyptian  labour 
corps,  and  these  worked  ceaselessly,  clearing  off  top 
layers  of  mud,  carrying  stones  down  from  the  hills 
and  breaking  them,  putting  on  a  new  surface  and 
repairing  the  decayed  walls  which  held  up  the  road 
in  many  places.     The  roadmakers  proved  splendid 
fellows.     They  put  a  vast  amount  of  energy  into  their 
work,  but  when  the  roads  were  improved  rain  gravely 
interfered  with  traffic,  and  camels  were  found  to  be 
most  unsatisfactory.     They  shpped  and  fell  and  no 
reUance  could  be  placed  on  a  camel  convoy  getting 
to  its  destination  in  the  hills.     Two  thousand  donkeys 
were  pressed  into  service,  and  with  them  the  troops 
in  the  distant  positions  were  kept  supplied.     It  would 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  161 

not  be  possible  to  exaggerate  the  value  of  this  donkey 
transport.  In  anticipation  of  the  advance  the 
Quartermaster-General's  department,  with  the  fore- 
sight which  characterised  that  department  and  all 
its  branches  throughout  the  campaign,  searched 
Egypt  for  the  proper  stamp  of  asses  for  pack  trans- 
port in  the  hiUs.  The  Egyptian  donkey  is  a  big 
fellow  with  a  light-grey  coat,  capable  of  carrying,  a 
substantial  load,  hardy,  generally  docile,  and  less 
stubborn  than  most  of  the  species.  He  is  much  taller 
and  heavier  than  the  Palestine  donkey,  and  our 
Army  never  submitted  him  to  the  atrociously  heavy^ 
loads  which  crush  and  break  the  spirit  of  the  local 
Arabs'  animals.  It  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  hope 
that  the  natives  will  learn  something  from  the  British 
soldier's  treatment  of  animals.  It  was  one  of  the 
sights  of  the  campaign  to  see  the  donkey  trains  at 
work.  They  carried  supplies  which,  having  been 
brought  by  the  mihtary  railway  from  the  Suez  Canal 
to  railhead,  were  conveyed  by  motor  lorries  as  far  as 
the  state  of  the  road  permitted  self-propelled  vehicles 
to  run,  were  next  transhipped  into  limbers,  and, 
when  horse  transport  could  proceed  no  farther,  were 
stowed  on  to  the  backs  of  camels.  The  condition  of 
the  road  presently  held  up  the  camels,  and  then 
donkey  trains  took  over  the  loads.  Under  a  white 
officer  you  would  see  a  chain  of  some  two  hundred 
donkeys,  each  roped  in  file  of  four,  led  by  an  Egyptian 
who  knew  all  that  was  worth  knowing  about  the 
ways  of  the  ass,  winding  their  way  up  and  down  hills, 
getting  a  foothold  on  rocks  where  no  other  animal 
but  a  goat  could  stand,  and  surmounting  all  obstacles 
with  a  patient  endurance  which  every  soldier  admired. 
They  did  not  like  the  cold,  and  the  rain  made  them 
look  deplorably  wretched,  but  they  got  rations  and 
drinking-water  right  up  to  the  crags  where  our  in- 

L 


162  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

fantry  were  practising  mountaineering.  Shell -fire 
did  not  disturb  them  much,  and  they  would  nibble 
at  any  rank  stuff  growing  on  the  hiUsides  to  supple- 
ment the  rations  which  did  not  always  reach  their 
Imes  at  regular  intervals.  The  Gyppy  boys  were 
excellent  leaders,  and  to  them  and  the  donkeys  the 
front-hne  fighting  men  in  the  hill  country  owe  much. 
They  were  saved  a  good  deal  of  exhausting  labour  in 
manhandling  stores  from  the  point  where  camels  had 
to  stop,  and  they  could  therefore  concentrate  their 
attention  on  the  Turk. 

By  December  2  the  fine  exertions  of  the  troops  on 
the  Une  of  communications  had  enabled  the  XXth 
Corps  Commander  to  make  his  plans  for  the  capture 
of  Jerusalem,  and  at  a  conference  at  Enab  on  the 
following  day  General  Chetwode  outlined  his  scheme, 
which,  put  ii\a  nutshell,  was  to  attack  with  the  60th 
and  74th  Divisions  in  an  easterly  direction  on  the 
front  Ain  Karim-Beit  Surik  and,  skirting  the  western 
suburbs  of  Jerusalem,  to  place  these  two  divisions 
astride  the  Jerusalem-Nablus  road,  while  the  53rd 
Division    advanced   from   Hebron    to    threaten    the 
enemy  from  the  south  and  protect  the  right  of  the 
60th  Division.     I  will  not  apologise  for  deaUng  as 
fully  as  possible  with  the  fighting  about  Jerusalem, 
because  Jerusalem  was  one  of  the  great  victories  of 
the  war,  and  the  care  taken  to  observe  the  sanctity 
of  the  place  will  for  all  time  stand  out  as  one  of  the 
brightest  examples  of  the  honour  of  British  arms. 
But  before  entering  upon  those  details  I  will  put  in 
chronological  sequence  the  course  of  the  fighting  on 
this  front  from  the  moment  when  the  XXth  Corps 
took  over  the  command,  and  show  how,  despite  enemy 
vigilance   and   many   attacks,   the  preparations  for 
the  outstanding  event  of  the  campaign  were  carried 
through.     It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  short  period 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  163 

of  ten  days  the  plans  could  be  worked  out  in  detail 
and  carried  through  to  a  triumphant  issue,  notwith- 
standing the  bad  weather  and  the  almost  overwhelm- 
ing difficulties  of  supply.  Only  the  whole-hearted 
co-operation  of  aU  ranks  made  it  possible.  On  the 
day  after  the  XXth  Corps  became  responsible  for 
this  front  General  Chetwode  had  a  conference  with 
Generals  Barrow,  HiU,  and  Girdwood,  and  after  a 
full  discussion  of  the  situation  in  the  hills  decided  to 
abandon  the  plan  of  getting  on  to  the  Jerusalem- 
Nablus  road  from  the  north  in  favour  of  attempting 
to  take  Jerusalem  from  the  west  and  south-west. 
The  commanders  of  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division 
and  the  52nd  Division  were  asked  to  suggest,  from 
their  experience  of  the  fighting  of  the  past  ten  days, 
what  improvement  in  the  line  was  necessary  to  make 
it  certain  that  the  new  plan  would  not  be  interfered 
with  by  an  enemy  counter-attack.  They  were  in 
favour  of  taking  the  western  portion  of  the  Beitunia- 
Zeitun  ridge.  Preparations  were  made  immediately 
to  reheve  the  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  by  the 
Australian  Mounted  Division,  and  when  the  10th 
Division  arrived — it  was  marching  up  from  Gaza — 
the  52nd  Division  was  to  be  returned  to  the  XXIst 
Corps.  The  hard  fighting  and  the  determined  attacks 
of  the  Turks  had  made  it  unavoidable  that  some 
portions  of  the  divisions  should  be  mixed,  and  the 
reliefs  were  not  completed  till  the  2nd  of  December. 
The  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  troops  gave 
over  the  Tahta  defences  to  the  157th  Infantry  Brigade 
on  the  night  of  November  29-30,  and  the  enemy 
made  an  attack  on  the  new  defenders  at  dawn,  but 
were  swiftly  beaten  off.  A  local  effort  against  Nebi 
Samwil  was  easily  repulsed,  but  the  60th  Division 
reported  that  the  enemy  had  in  the  past  few  days 
continued  his  shelhng  of  the  Mosque,  and  had  added 


164  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

to  his  destruction  of  that  sacred  place  by  demoHshing 
the  minaret  by  gunfire.  The  231st  Infantry  Brigade 
with  one  battahon  in  the  front  hne  took  over  from 
the  8th  Mounted  Brigade  from  Beit  Dukku  to  Jufna, 
and  while  the  rehefs  were  in  progress  there  was 
continual  fighting  in  the  Et  Tireh-Foka  area.  The 
former  place  was  won  and  lost  several  times,  and 
finally  the  infantry  consolidated  on  the  high  ground 
west  of  those  villages.  Early  on  the  30th  a  detach- 
ment of  the  231st  Brigade  took  Foka,  capturing  eight 
officers  and  298  men,  but  as  it  was  not  possible  to 
hold  the  village  the  infantry  retired  to  our  original 
line.  On  December  1  the  10th  Division  relieved  the 
52nd  in  the  sector  wadi  Zait-Tahta-Kh.  Faaush,  but 
on  that  day  the  155th  Brigade  had  had  another 
hard  brush  with  the  Turks.  A  regiment  of  the  3rd 
Australian  Light  Horse  on  a  hill  north  of  El  Burj  in 
front  of  them  was  heavily  attacked  at  half-past  one 
in  the  morning  by  a  specially  prepared  sturmtruppen 
battalion  of  the  Turkish  19th  Division,  and  a  footing 
was  gained  in  our  position,  but  with  the  aid  of  a 
detachment  of  the  Gloucester  Yeomanry  and  the 
l/4th  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  the  enemy  was  driven  out 
at  daybreak  and  six  officers  and  106  un wounded  and 
60  wounded  Turks,  wearing  steel  hats  and  equipped 
like  German  storming  troops,  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  attack  was  pressed  with  the  greatest  determina- 
tion, and  the  enemy,  using  hand  grenades,  got  within 
thirty  yards  of  our  line.  During  the  latter  part  of 
their  advance  the  Turks  were  exposed  to  a  heavy 
cross  fire  from  machine  guns  and  rifles  of  the  9th 
Light  Horse  Regiment,  and  this  fire  and  the  guns 
of  the  268th  Brigade  Royal  Field  Artillery  and 
the  Hong  Kong  and  Singapore  battery  prevented 
the  retirement  of  the  enemy.  The  capture  of  the 
prisoners  was  effected  by  an  encirchng   movement 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  165 

round  both  flanks.  Our  casualties  were  9  killed  and 
47  wounded.  That  storming  battahon  left  over  100 
dead  about  our  trenches.  At  the  same  time  a  violent 
attack  was  made  on  the  Tahta  defences  held  by  the 
157th  Brigade  ;  the  enemy,  rushing  forward  in  con- 
siderable strength  and  with  great  impetus,  captured 
a  ridge  overlooking  Tahta — a  success  which,  if  they 
had  succeeded  in  holding  the  position  till  daylight, 
would  have  rendered  that  village  untenable,  and 
would  have  forced  our  line  back  some  distance  at  an 
important  point.  It  proved  to  be  a  last  desperate 
effort  of  the  enemy  at  this  vital  centre.  No  sooner 
were  the  Scots  driven  off  the  ridge  than  they  re-formed 
and  prepared  to  retake  it.  Reinforced,  they  attacked 
with  magnificent  courage  in  face  of  heavy  machine- 
gun  Bie,  but  it  was  not  until  after  a  rather  prolonged 
period  of  bayonet  work  that  the  Lowland  troops  got 
the  upper  hand,  the  Turks  trying  again  and  again  to 
force  them  out.  At  haK-past  four  they  gave  up 
the  attempt,  and  from  that  hour  Tahta  and  the  rocks 
about  it  were  objects  of  terror  to  them. 

Nor  did  the  Turks  permit  Nebi  Samwil  to  remain  in 
our  possession  undisputed.  The  Londoners  holding 
it  were  thrice  attacked  with  extreme  violence,  but 
the  defenders  never  flinched,  and  the  heavy  losses 
of  the  enemy  may  be  measured  by  the  fact  that  when 
we  took  Jerusalem  and  an  unwonted  silence  hung  over 
Nebi  Samwil,  our  burying  parties  interred  more  than 
500  Turkish  dead  about  the  summit  of  that  lofty 
hill.  Their  graves  are  mostly  on  the  eastern,  northern, 
and  southern  slopes.  Ours  He  on  the  west,  where 
Scot,  Londoner,  West  Countryman,  and  Indian,  all 
equally  heroic  sons  of  the  Empire,  sleep,  as  they 
fought,  side  by  side. 

The  last  heavy  piece  of  fighting  on  the  XXth 
Corps'  front  before  the  attack  on  Jerusalem  was  on 


166  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

December  3,  when  a  regiment  of  yeomanry,  which 
Uke  a  number  of  other  yeomanry  regiments  had  been 
dismounted  to  form  the  74th  Division,  covered  itself 
with  glory.  The  16th  (Royal  Devon  Yeomanry) 
battahon  of  the  Devon  Regiment  belonging  to  the 
229th  Brigade  was  ordered  to  make  an  attack  on 
Beit  ur  el  Foka  in  the  dark  hours  of  the  morning. 
All  the  officers  had  made  reconnaissances  and  had 
learned  the  extreme  difficulties  of  the  ground.  At 
1  A.M.  these  yeomen  worked  their  way  up  the  wadi 
Zeit  to  the  head  of  that  narrow  watercourse  at  the 
base  of  the  south-western  edge  of  the  hill  on  which 
the  village  stands.  The  attack  was  launched  from 
this  position,  the  company  on  the  right  having  the 
steepest  face  to  climb.  Here  the  villagers,  to  get 
the  most  out  of  the  soil  and  to  prevent  the  winter 
rains  washing  it  off  the  rocks  into  the  wadi,  had  built 
a  series  of  terraces,  and  the  retaining  walls,  often 
crumbling  to  the  touch,  offered  some  cover  from  the 
Turkish  defenders'  fire.  With  the  advantage  of  this 
shelter  the  troops  on  the  right  reached  the  southern 
end  of  the  village  soon  after  2  o'clock,  but  the  com- 
pany on  the  left  met  with  much  opposition  on  the 
easier  slope,  and  had  to  call  in  aid  the  support  of  a 
machine-gun  section  posted  in  the  woods  on  a  ridge 
north-west  of  the  village.  By  3  o'clock  the  whole 
battahon  was  in  the  village,  using  rifle  and  bayonet 
in  the  road  scarcely  more  than  a  couple  of  yards  wide, 
and  bombing  the  enemy  out  of  native  mud  and  stone 
houses  and  caves.  Two  officers  and  fifteen  un- 
wounded  men  were  taken  prisoners  with  three 
machine  guns,  but  before  any  consolidation  could 
be  done  the  Turks  began  a  series  of  counter-attacks 
which  lasted  all  day.  As  we  had  previously  found, 
Foka  was  very  hard  to  defend.  It  is  overlooked 
on  the  north,  north-east,  and  east  by  ridges  a  few 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  167 

hundred  yards  away,  and  by  a  high  hill  north  of 
Ain  Jeruit,  1200  yards  to  the  north,  by  another  hill 
1000  yards  to  the  east,  and  by  the  famous  Zeitun 
ridge  about  1500  yards  beyond  it,  and  attacks  from 
these  directions  could  be  covered  very  effectively  by 
overhead  machine-gun  foe.     To  enlarge  the  peri- 
meter of  defence  would  be  to  increase  the  difficulties 
and  require  a  much  larger  force  than  was  available, 
and  there  was  no  intention  of  going  beyond  Foka 
before   the   main  operation   against  Jerusalem  was 
started.     To  hold  Foka  securely  a  force  must  be  in 
possession  of  the  heights  on  the  north  and  east,  and 
to  keep  these  Beitunia  itself  must  be  gained.     Before 
daylight  arrived  some  work  on  defences  was  begun, 
but  it  was  interfered  with  by  snipers  and  not  much 
could  be  done.    Immediately  the  sun  rose  from  behind 
the  Judean  hills  there  was  a  violent  outburst  of  fire 
from   machine   guns   and  rifles   on  three   sides,   in- 
creasing   in    volume    as    the    light    improved.     The 
enemy  counter-attacked  with  a  determination  fully 
equal  to  that  which  he  had  displayed  during  the  past 
fortnight's  battle  in  the  hiUs.     He  had  the  advantage 
of  cover  and  was  supported  by  artillery  and  a  hurri- 
cane of  machine-gun  fire,  but  although  he  climbed 
the  hill  and  got  into  the  small  gardens  outside  the 
very  houses,  he  was  repulsed  with  bomb  and  bayonet. 
At  one  moment  there  was  little  rifle  fire,  and  the  two 
sides  fought  it  out  with  bombs.     The  Turks  retired 
with  heavy  losses,  but  they  soon  came  back  again 
and  fought  with   the   same   determination,   though 
equally  unsuccessfully.     The  Devons  called  for  artil- 
lery, and  three  batteries  supported  them  splendidly, 
though  the  gunners  were  under  a  great  disadvantage 
in  that  the  ground  did  not  permit  the  effect  of  gunfire 
to  be  observed  and  it  was  difficult  to  follow  the 
attackers.     The  supplies  of  bombs  and  small-arms 


168  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

ammunition  were  getting  low,  and  to  replenish  them 
men  had  to  expose  themselves  to  a  torrent  of  fire, 
so  fierce  indeed  that  in  bringing  up  two  boxes  of 
rifle  ammmiition  which  four  men  could  carry  twelve 
casualties  were  incuiTed.  A  head  shown  in  the 
village  instantly  drew  a  hail  of  bullets  from  three 
sides.  Reinforcements  were  on  the  way  up,  and  the 
Fife  and  Forfar  Yeomanry  battalion  of  the  Royal 
Highlanders  were  prepared  to  make  a  flank  attack 
from  their  outpost  line  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south- 
east of  Foka  to  reheve  the  Devons,  but  this  would 
have  endangered  the  safety  of  the  outpost  line 
without  reducing  the  fire  from  the  heights,  and  as 
the  Fife  and  Forfar  men  would  have  had  to  cross 
two  deep  wadis  under  enfilade  ^e  on  their  way  to 
Foka  their  adventure  would  have  been  a  perilous 
one.  By  this  time  three  out  of  four  of  the  Devons' 
company  commanders  were  wounded  and  the  casual- 
ties were  increasing.  The  officer  commanding  the 
battahon  therefore  decided,  after  seven  hours  of 
terrific  fighting,  that  the  village  of  Foka  was  no  longer 
tenable,  and  authority  was  given  him  to  withdraw. 
In  their  last  attack  the  enemy  put  1000  men  against 
the  village,  and  it  was  not  until  the  O.C.  Devons 
had  seen  this  strength  that  he  proposed  the  place 
should  be  evacuated.  His  men  had  put  up  a  great 
fight.  The  battahon  went  into  action  762  strong  ; 
it  came  out  488.  Three  officers  were  killed  and  nine 
wounded,  and  49  other  ranks  killed  and  132  wounded. 
Thirteen  were  wounded  and  missing  and  78  missing. 
In  Foka  to-day  you  will  see  most  of  the  battered 
houses  repaired,  but  progress  through  the  streets  is 
partially  baiTed  by  the  graves  of  Devon  yeomen  who 
were  buried  where  they  feU.  It  was  not  possible  to 
hew  a  grave  in  rock,  therefore  earth  and  stone  were 
piled  up  round  the  bodies,  so  that  in  at  least  two 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  169 

spots  you  find  several  graves  serving  as  buttresses 
to  rude  dwellings.  On  one  of  these  graves,  beside 
the  identification  tablet  of  two  strong  sons  of  Devon, 
you  will  find,  on  a  piece  of  paper  inserted  in  a  slit 
cut  into  wood  torn  from  an  ammunition  box,  the 
words  '  Grave  of  unknown  Turk.'  Friend  and  foe 
share  a  common  resting-place.  The  natives  of  this 
village  are  more  than  usually  friendly,  and  those 
graves  seem  safe  in  their  keeping. 

Between  the  4th  and  7th  December  there  was  a 
reshuffling  of  the  troops  holding  the  fine  to  enable 
a  concentration  of  the  divisions  entrusted  with  the 
attack  on  the  defences  covering  Jerusalem.  The 
10th  Division  reheved  the  229th  and  230th  Brigades 
of  the  74th  Division  and  extended  its  line  to  cover 
Beit  Dukku,  a  point  near  and  west  of  Et  Tireh,  to 
Tahta,  and  when  the  enemy  retired  from  the  im- 
mediate front  of  the  10th  Division's  left,  Hellabi 
and  Suffa  were  occupied.  The  Australian  Mounted 
Division  also  slightly  advanced  its  line.  On  the 
night  of  December  5  the  231st  Brigade  relieved  the 
60th  Division  in  the  Beit  Izza  and  Nebi  Samwil 
positions,  and  on  December  6  the  line  held  by  the 
74th  was  extended  to  a  point  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
north  of  Kulonieh.  The  53rd  Division  had  passed 
through  Hebron,  and  its  advance  was  timed  to  reach 
the  Bethlehem-Beit  Jala  district  on  December  7. 
The  information  gained  by  the  XXth  Corps  led  the 
staff  to  estimate  the  strength  of  the  enemy  opposite 
them  to  be  13,300  rifles  and  2700  sabres,  disposed 
as  follows :  east  of  Jerusalem  the  7th  cavalry 
regiment,  500  sabres ;  the  27th  Division  covering 
Jerusalem  and  extending  to  the  Junction  Station- 
Jerusalem  railway  at  Bitter  Station,  1200  rifles ; 
thence  to  the  Latron-Jerusalem  road  with  strong 
points  at  Ain  Karim  and  Deir  Yesin,  the  53rd  Turkish 


170  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Division,  2000  rifles  ;  from  the  road  to  Nebi  Samwil 
(Beit  Iksa  being  very  strongly  held)  the  26th  Turkish 
Division,  1800  rifles  ;  Nebi  Samwil  to  Beit  ur  el  Foka, 
19th  Turkish  Division  with  the  2/61st  regiment  and 
the  158th  regiment  attached,  4000  rifles  ;  Beit  ur  el 
Foka  to  about  Suffa,  the  24th  Division,  1600  rifles; 
thence  to  the  extreme  left  of  the  XXth  Corps  the 
3rd  Cavaky  Division,  1500  sabres.  The  54th  Turkish 
Division  was  in  reserve  at  Bireh  with  2700  rifles. 
The  enemy  held  a  hne  covering  Bethlehem  across 
the  Hebron  road  to  Balua,  then  to  the  hill  Kibryan 
south-west  of  Beit  Jala,  whence  the  hne  proceeded 
due  north  to  Ain  Karim  and  Deir  Yesin,  both  of 
which  were  strongly  entrenched,  on  to  the  hill  over- 
looking the  Jerusalem  road  above  Lifta.  From  this 
point  the  Hne  crossed  the  road  to  the  high  ground 
west  of  Beit  Iksa — entrenchments  were  cut  deep  into 
the  face  of  this  hill  to  cover  the  road  from  Kulonieh — 
thence  northward  agaui  to  the  east  of  Nebi  Samwil, 
west  of  El  Jib,  Dreihemeh  (one  mile  north-east  of 
Beit  Dukku)  to  Foka,  Kh.  Aberjan,  and  beyond 
Sufla. 

During  the  attack  the  Australian  Mounted  Division 
was  to  protect  the  left  flank  of  the  10th  Division, 
which  with  one  brigade  of  the  74th  Division  was  to 
hold  the  whole  of  the  line  in  the  hills  from  Tahta 
through  Foka,  Dukku,  Beit  Izza  to  Nebi  Samwil, 
leaving  the  attack  to  be  conducted  by  two  brigade 
groups  of  the  74th  Division,  the  whole  of  the  60th 
Division,  and  two  brigade  groups  of  the  53rd  Division, 
with  the  10th  regiment  of  Australian  Light  Horse 
watching  the  right  flank  of  the  60th  Division  until 
the  left  of  thv^  53rd  could  join  up  with  it.  One  brigade 
of  the  53rd  Division  was  to  advance  from  the  Beth- 
lehem-Beit Jala  area  with  its  left  on  the  line  drawn 
from  Sherafat  through  Malhah  to  protect  the  60th 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  171 

Division's  flank,  the  other  brigade  marching  direct 
on  Jerusalem,  and  to  move  by  roads  south  of  the 
town  to  a  position  covering  Jerusalem  from  the  east 
and  north-east,  but — and  these  were  instructions 
specially  impressed  on  this  brigade  —  'the  City  of 
Jerusalem  will  not  be  entered,  and  all  movements 
by  troops  and  vehicles  will  be  restricted  to  roads 
passing  outside  the  City.'  The  objective  of  the 
60th  and  74th  Divisions  was  a  general  line  from 
Ras  et  Tawil,  a  hill  east  of  the  Nablus  road  about 
four  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  to  Nebi  Samwil,  one 
brigade  of  the  74th  Division  holding  Nebi  Samwil 
and  Beit  Izza  defences  and  to  form  the  pivot  of  the 
attack.  The  dividing  line  between  the  60th  and  74th 
Divisions  was  the  Enab- Jerusalem  road  as  far  as 
Lifta  and  from  that  place  to  the  wadi  Beit  Hannina. 
The  form  of  the  attack  was  uncertain  until  it  was 
known  how  the  enemy  would  meet  the  advance  of 
the  53rd  Division,  which,  on  the  3rd  December, 
was  in  a  position  north  of  Hebron  within  two  ten- 
mile  marches  of  the  point  at  which  it  would  co-operate 
on  the  right  of  the  60th.  If  the  enemy  increased 
his  strength  south  of  Jerusalem  to  oppose  the  advance 
of  the  53rd  Division,  General  Chetwode  proposed 
that  the  60th  and  74th  Divisions  should  force  straight 
through  to  the  Jerusalem-Nablus  road,  the  60th 
throwing  out  a  flank  to  the  south-east,  so  as  to  cut 
off  the  Turks  opposing  the  53rd  from  either  the  Nablus 
or  the  Jericho  road.  It  was  not  considered  probable 
that  the  enemy  would  risk  the  capture  of  a  large 
body  of  troops  south  of  Jerusalem.  On  the  other 
hand,  should  the  Turks  withdraw  from  in  front  of  the 
Welsh  Division,  the  alternative  plan  provided  that 
the  latter  attack  should  take  the  form  of  making  a 
direct  advance  on  Jerusalem  and  a  wheel  by  the 
60th  and  74th  Divisions,  pivoting  on  the  Beit  Izza 


172  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

and  Ncbi  Samwil  defences,  so  as  to  drive  the  enemy 
northwards.  The  operations  were  to  be  divided  into 
four  phases.  The  first  phase  fell  to  the  60th  and  74th 
Divisions,  and  consisted  in  the  capture  of  the  wliole 
of  the  south-western  and  western  defences  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

These  ran  from  a  point  near  the  railway  south-west 
of  Malhah  round  to  the  west  of  Ain  Karim,  then  on  to 
the  hill  of  Khurbet  Subr,  down  a  cleft  in  the  hills  and 
up  on  to  the  high  Deir  Yesm  ridge,  thence  round  the 
top  of  two  other  hills  dominating  the  old  and  new 
roads  to  Jerusalem  from  Jaffa  as  they  pass  by  the 
village  of  Kulonieh.  North  of  the  new  road  the 
enemy's  line  ran  round  the  southern  face  of  a  bold 
hill  overlooking  the  village  of  Beit  Iksa  and  along  the 
tortuous  course  of  the  wadi  El  Abbeideh.  In  the 
second  phase  the  60th  Division  was  to  move  over 
the  Jaffa-Jerusalem  road  with  its  right  almost  up 
to  the  scattered  houses  on  the  north-western  fringe  of 
Jerusalem's  suburbs,  and  its  left  was  to  pass  the 
village  of  Lifta  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  rising  from  the 
wadi  Beit  Hannina.  The  objective  of  the  60th 
Division  in  the  third  phase  was  the  capture  of  a  line 
of  a  track  leaving  the  Jerusalem -Nablus  road  well 
forward  of  the  northern  suburb  and  running  down 
to  the  wadi  Hannina,  the  74th  Division  advancing 
down  the  spur  running  south-east  from  Nebi  Samwil 
to  a  point  about  1000  yards  south-west  of  Beit  Han- 
nina, the  latter  a  prominent  height  with  a  slope 
amply  clothed  with  olive  trees.  The  fourth  phase 
was  an  advance  astride  the  road  to  Ras  et  Tawil. 
As  will  be  seen  hereafter  all  these  objectives  were 
not  obtained,  but  the  first,  and  chief  of  them,  was, 
and  the  inevitable  followed — Jerusalem  became  ours. 

Let  us  now  picture  some  of  the  country  the  troops 
had  to  cross  and  the  defences  they  had  to  capture 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  173 

before  the  Turks  could  be  forced  out  of  Jerusalem. 
We  wiU  first  look  at  it  from  Enab,  the  ancient  Kir- 
jath-jearim,  which  the  Somersets,  Wilts,  and  Gurkhas 
had  taken  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  From  the  top 
of  Enab  the  Jaffa- Jerusalem  road  winds  down  a  deep 
valley,  plentifully  planted  with  olive  and  fig  trees 
and  watered  by  the  wadi  Ikbala.  A  splendid  supply 
of  water  had  been  developed  by  Royal  Engineers 
near  the  ruins  of  a  Crusader  fortress  which,  if  native 
tradition  may  be  rehed  on,  housed  Richard  of  the 
Lion  Heart.  From  the  wadi  rises  a  hiU  on  which  is 
Kustul,  a  village  covering  the  site  of  an  old  Roman 
castle  from  which,  doubtless,  its  name  is  derived. 
Kustul  stands  out  the  next  boldest  feature  to  Nebi 
Samwil,  and  from  it,  when  the  atmosphere  is  clear, 
the  red-tiled  roofs  of  houses  in  the  suburbs  of  Jeru- 
salem are  plainly  visible.  A  dozen  villages  clinging 
like  hmpets  to  steep  hillsides  are  before  you,  and 
away  on  your  right  front  the  tall  spires  of  Christian 
churches  at  Ain  Karim  tell  you  you  are  approaching 
the  Holy  Sites.  Looking  east  the  road  falls,  with 
many  short  zigzags  in  its  length,  to  Kulonieh,  crosses 
the  wadi  Surar  by  a  substantial  bridge  (which  the 
Turks  blew  up),  and  then  creeps  up  the  hills  in  heavy 
gradients  tiU  it  is  lost  to  view  about  Lifta.  The  wadi 
Surar  winds  round  the  foot  of  the  hiU  which  Kustul 
crowns,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  watercourse 
there  rises  the  series  of  hiUs  on  which  the  Turks  in- 
tended to  hold  our  hands  ofi  Jerusalem.  The  descent 
from  Kustul  is  very  rapid  and  the  rise  on  the  other 
side  is  almost  as  precipitous.  On  both  sides  of  the 
wadi  olive  trees  are  thickly  planted,  and  on  the  ter- 
raced slopes  vines  yield  a  plentiful  harvest.  Big 
spurs  run  down  to  the  wadi,  the  sides  are  rough  even 
in  dry  weather,  but  when  the  winter  rains  are  fall- 
ing it  is  difficult  to  keep  a  foothold.     South-west  of 


174  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Kustul  is  Soba,  a  village  on  another  high  hill,  and 
below  it  and  west  of  Ain  Karim,  on  lower  ground,  is 
Setaf,  both  having  orchards  and  vineyards  in  which 
the  inhabitants  practise  the  arts  of  husbandry  by 
the  same  methods  as  their  remote  forefathers.  An 
aerial  reconnaissance  nearly  a  year  before  we  took 
Jerusalem  showed  the  Turks  busily  making  trenches 
on  the  hills  east  of  the  wadi  Surar.  An  inspection 
of  the  defences  proved  the  work  to  have  been  long 
and  arduous,  though  hke  many  things  the  Turk  began 
he  did  not  finish  them.  What  he  did  do  was  done 
elaborately.  He  employed  masons  to  chisel  the 
stone  used  for  revetting,  and  in  places  the  stones  fit 
well  and  truly  one  upon  the  other,  while  an  enormous 
amount  of  rock  must  have  been  blasted  to  excavate 
the  trenches.  The  system  adopted  was  to  have 
three  fire  trenches  near  the  top  of  the  hills,  one  above 
the  other,  so  that  were  the  first  two  lines  taken  the 
third  would  still  offer  a  difficult  obstacle,  and,  if  the 
defenders  were  armed  with  bombs,  it  would  be  hard 
for  attackers  to  retain  the  trenches  in  front  of  them. 
There  was  much  dead  ground  below  the  entrench- 
ments, but  the  defences  were  so  arranged  that  cross 
fire  from  one  system  swept  the  dead  ground  on  the 
next  spur,  and,  if  the  hills  were  properly  held,  an  ad- 
vance up  them  would  have  been  a  stupendous  task. 
The  Turk  had  put  all  his  eggs  into  one  basket.  Per- 
haps he  considered  his  positions  impregnable — they 
would  have  been  practically  impregnable  in  British 
hands — and  he  made  no  attempt  to  cut  support 
trenches  behind  the  crest.  There  was  one  system 
only,  and  his  failure  to  provide  defences  in  depth 
cost  him  dear. 

Looking  eastwards  from  Kustul,  the  Turkish 
positions  south  of  the  Jaffa-Jerusalem  road,  each  of 
them  on  a  hill,  were  called  by  us  the  '  Liver  Redoubt ' 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  175 

(near  Lifta),  the  '  Heart  Redoubt,'  '  Deir  Yesin,' 
and  '  Khurbet  Subr,'  with  the  village  of  Ain  Karim 
in  a  fold  of  the  hills  and  a  line  of  trenches  south-west 
of  it  running  down  to  the  railway.  Against  the 
74th  Division's  front  the  nature  of  the  country  was 
equally  difficult.  From  Beit  Surik  down  to  the  Kulo- 
nieh  road  the  hills  fell  sharply  with  the  ground  strewn 
with  boulders.  Our  men  had  to  advance  across 
ravines  and  beds  of  watercourses  covered  with  large 
stones,  and  up  the  wooded  slopes  of  hills  where  stone 
walls  constituted  ready-made  sangars  easily  capable 
of  defence.  The  hardest  position  they  had  to  tackle 
was  the  hill  covering  Beit  Iksa,  due  north  of  the  road 
as  it  issued  from  Kulonieh,  where  long  semicircular 
trenches  had  been  cut  to  command  at  least  half  a 
mile  of  the  main  road.  In  front  of  the  53rd  Division 
was  an  ideal  rearguard  country  where  enterprising 
cavalry  could  have  delaj^ed  an  advance  by  infantry 
for  a  lengthened  period.  To  the  south  of  Bethlehem, 
around  Beit  Jala  and  near  Urtas,  covering  the  Pools 
of  Solomon,  an  invaluable  water  supply,  there  were 
prepared  defences,  but  though  the  Division  was  much 
delayed  by  heavy  rain  and  dense  mist,  the  fog  was 
used  to  their  advantage,  for  the  whole  of  the  Division's 
horses  were  watered  at  Solomon's  Pools  one  after- 
noon without  opposition  from  the  Urtas  garrison. 

December  8  was  the  date  fixed  for  the  attack. 
On  December  7  rain  fell  unceasingly.  The  roads, 
which  had  been  drying,  became  a  mass  of  sHppery 
mud  to  the  west  of  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  Hebron 
side  the  Welsh  troops  had  to  trudge  ankle  deep 
through  a  soft  limy  surface.  It  was  soon  a  most 
difficult  task  to  move  transport  on  the  roads.  Lorries 
skidded,  and  double  teams  of  horses  could  only  make 
slow  progress  with  Umbers.  Off  the  road  it  became 
almost  impossible  to  move.     The  ground  was  a  quag- 


176  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

mire.  On  the  sodden  hills  the  troops  bivouacked 
without  a  stick  to  shelter  them.  The  wind  was 
strong  and  drove  walls  of  water  before  it,  and  there 
was  not  a  man  in  the  attacking  force  with  a  dry  skin. 
Sleep  on  those  perishing  heights  was  quite  out  of  the 
question,  and  on  the  day  when  it  was  hoped  the  men 
would  get  rest  to  prepare  them  for  the  morrow's 
fatigue  the  whole  Army  was  shivering  and  awake. 
So  bad  were  the  conditions  that  the  question  was  con- 
sidered as  to  whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  to 
postpone  the  attack,  but  General  Chetwode,  than 
whom  no  general  had  a  greater  sympathy  for  his  men, 
decided  that  as  the  53rd  Division  were  within  striking 
distance  by  the  enemy  the  attack  must  go  forward 
on  the  date  fixed.  That  night  was  calculated  to 
make  the  stoutest  hearts  faint.  Men  whose  blood 
had  been  thinned  by  summer  heat  in  the  desert 
were  now  called  upon  to  endure  long  hours  of  piercing 
cold,  with  their  clothes  wet  through  and  water  oozing 
out  of  their  boots  as  they  stood,  with  equipment 
made  doubly  heavy  by  rain,  caked  with  mud  from 
steel  helmet  to  heel,  and  the  toughened  skin  of  old 
campaigners  rendered  sore  by  rain  driven  against  it 
with  the  force  of  a  gale.  Groups  of  men  huddled 
together  in  the  effort  to  keep  warm :  a  vain  hope. 
And  all  welcomed  the  order  to  fall  in  preparatory  to 
moving  off  in  the  darkness  and  mist  to  a  battle  which, 
perhaps  more  than  any  other  in  this  war,  stirred  the 
emotions  of  countless  millions  in  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds.  Yet  their  spirits  remained  the  same. 
Nearly  frozen,  very  tired,  '  fed  up  '  with  the  weather, 
as  all  of  them  were,  they  were  alwa3^s  cheerful,  and 
the  man  who  missed  his  footing  and  floundered  in 
the  mud  regarded  the  incident  as  light-heartedly  as 
his  fellows.  An  Army  which  could  face  the  trials  of 
such  a  night  with  cheerfulness  was  unbeatable.     On© 


o  < 

t   D 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  177 

section  of  the  force  did  regard  the  prospects  with 
rueful  countenances.  This  was  the  Divisional  artillery. 
Tractors,  those  wonderfully  ugly  but  efficient  engines 
which  triumphed  over  most  obstacles,  had  got  the 
heavies  into  position.  The  96th  Heavy  Group,  con- 
sisting of  three  6-inch  howitzer  batteries,  one  com- 
plete 60-pounder  battery,  and  a  section  of  another 
60-pounder  battery,  and  the  Hong  Kong  and  Singa- 
pore Mountain  Battery,  were  attached  to  and  up 
with  the  74th  Division.  The  10  and  B  9  Mountain 
Batteries  were  with  the  60th  Division  waiting  to  try 
their  luck  down  the  hills,  and  the  91st  Heavy  Battery 
{60-pounders)  was  being  hauled  forward  with  the 
53rd.  The  heavies  could  get  in  long-range  fire  from 
Kustul,  but  what  thought  the  18-pounder  batteries  ? 
With  the  country  in  such  a  deplorable  state  it  looked 
hopeless  for  them  to  expect  to  be  in  the  show,  and 
the  prospect  of  remaining  out  of  the  big  thing  had 
more  effect  upon  the  gunners  than  the  weather.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  but  few  field  batteries  managed  to 
get  into  action.  Those  which  succeeded  in  opening 
fire  during  the  afternoon  of  December  8  did  most 
gallant  work  for  hours,  with  enemy  riflemen  shooting 
at  them  from  close  range,  and  their  work  formed  a 
worthy  part  in  the  victory.  The  other  field  gunners 
could  console  themselves  with  the  fact  that  the 
difficulties  which  were  too  great  for  them — and  really 
field-gun  fire  on  the  steep  slopes  could  not  be  very 
effective — prevented  even  the  mountain  batteries, 
which  can  go  almost  anywhere,  from  fully  co-operat- 
ing with  the  infantry. 

The  preliminary  moves  for  the  attack  were  made 
during  the  night.  The  179th  Infantry  Brigade  group 
consisting  of  2/13th  London,  2/14th  London,  2/15th 
London,  and  2/1 6th  London  with  the  2/23rd  London 
attached,  the  10th  Mountain  Battery  and  B  9  Moun- 

M 


178  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

tain  Battery,  a  section  of  the  521st  Field  Coy.  R.E., 
C  company  of  Loyal  North  Lancashire  Pioneers,  and 
the   2/4th   Field   Ambulance   specially  equipped   on 
an  all-mule  scale,  moved  to  the  wadi   Surar  in  two 
columns.     The  right  column  was  preceded  by  an  ad- 
vance guard  of  the  Kensington  battalion,  the  Loyal 
North  Lancashire  Pioneers,  and  the  section  of  R.E., 
which  left  the  brigade  bivouacs  behind  Soba  at  five 
o'clock  on  the    afternoon  of  the  7th  to  enable  the 
pioneers  and  engineers  to  improve  a  track  marked 
on  the  map.     For  the  greater  part  of  the  way  the  track 
had  evidently  been  unused  for  many  years,  and  all 
traces  of  it  had  disappeared,  but  in  three  hours'  time 
a  way  had  been  made  down  the  hill  to  the  wadi, 
and  the  brigade  got  over  the  watercourse  just  north 
of  Setaf  a  little  after  midnight.     As  a  preliminary 
to  the  attack  on  the  first  objective  it  was  necessary 
to  secure  the  high  groimd  south  of  Ain  Karim  and 
the  trenches  covering  that  bright  and  picturesque 
little  towTi.     At  two  o'clock,  when  rain  and  mist 
made  it  so  dark  it  was  not  possible  to  see  a  wall  a 
couple  of  yards  ahead,  the  Kensingtons  advanced 
to  gain  the  heights  south  of  Ain  Karim  in  order  to 
enable  the  179th  Brigade  to  be  deployed.     A  scramb- 
ling climb  brought  the  Kensingtons  to  the  top  of 
the  hill,  and,  after  a  weird  fight  of  an  hour  and  a  half 
in  such  blackness  of  night  that  it  was  hard  to  distin- 
guish between  friend  and  foe,  they  captured  it  and 
beat    off    several   persistent    coimter-attacks.       The 
179th  Brigade  thus  had  the  ground  secured  for  pre- 
paring to  attack  their  section  of  the  main  defences. 
The  180th  Infantry  Brigade,  whose  brigadier,  Brig.- 
General  Watson,  had  the  honour  of  being  the  first 
general  in   Jerusalem,  the  first   across  the   Jordan, 
and  the  first  to  get  through  the  Turkish  fine  in  Sep- 
tember 1918  when  General  Allenby  sprang  forward 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  179 

through  the  Turks  and  made  the  mighty  march  to 
Aleppo,  was  composed  of  the  2/1 7th  London,  2/1 8th 
London,  2/19th  London,  and  2/20th  London,  519th 
Coy.  R.E.,  two  platoons  of  pioneers,  and  the 
2/5th  Field  Ambulance.  It  reached  its  position  of 
assembly  without  serious  opposition,  though  a  de- 
tachment which  went  through  the  village  of  Kulonieh 
met  some  enemy  posts.  These,  to  use  the  brigadier's 
phrase,  were  '  silently  dealt  with.' 

It  was  a  fine  feat  to  get  the  two  brigades  of  Lon- 
doners into  their  positions  of  deployment  well  up 
to  time.  The  infantry  had  to  get  from  Kustul  down 
a  precipitous  slope  of  nearly  a  thousand  feet  into  a 
wadi,  now  a  rushing  torrent,  and  up  a  rocky  and 
almost  as  steep  hill  on  the  other  side.  Nobody  could 
see  where  he  was  going,  but  direction  was  kept 
perfectly  and  silence  was  well  maintained,  the 
loosened  stones  falling  into  mud.  The  assault  was 
launched  at  a  quarter-past  five,  and  in  ten  minutes 
under  two  hours  the  two  brigades  (the  181st  Brigade 
being  in  reserve  just  south  of  Kustul)  had  penetrated 
the  whole  of  the  front  line  of  the  defences.  The 
Queen's  Westminsters  on  the  left  of  the  Kensingtons 
had  cleared  the  Turks  out  of  Ain  Karim  and  then 
climbed  up  a  steep  spur  to  attack  the  formidable 
Khurbet  Subr  defences.  They  took  the  garrison 
completely  by  surprise,  and  those  who  did  not  flee 
were  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  The  Queen's 
Westminsters  were  exposed  to  a  heavy  flanking  fire 
at  a  range  of  about  a  thousand  yards  from  a  tumulus 
south-east  of  Ain  Karim,  above  the  road  from  the 
village  to  the  western  suburbs  of  Jerusalem.  Turkish 
riflemen  were  firmly  dug  in  on  this  spot,  and  their 
two  machine  guns  poured  in  an  annoying  fire  on  the 
179th  Brigade  troops  which  threatened  to  hold  up 
the  attack.     Indeed  preparations  were  being  made 


180  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

to  send  a  company  to  take  the  tumulus  hill  in  flank, 
but  two  gallant  London  Scots  settled  the  activity 
of  the  enemy  and  captured  the  position  by  them- 
selves. Corporal  C.  W.  Train  and  Corporal  F.  S. 
Thornhill  stalked  the  garrison.  Corporal  Train  fired 
a  rifle  grenade  at  one  machine  gun,  which  he  hit  and 
put  out  of  action,  and  then  shot  the  whole  of  the  gun 
team.  Thornhill  was  attacking  the  other  gun,  and 
he,  with  the  assistance  of  Train,  accounted  for  that 
crew  as  well.  The  two  guns  were  captured  and  Tum- 
ulus Hill  gave  no  more  trouble.  Both  these  Scots 
were  rewarded,  and  Train  has  the  unique  honour  of 
wearing  the  only  V.C.  awarded  during  the  capture 
of  Jerusalem. 

At  about  the  same  time  there  was  another  very 
gallant  piece  of  work  being  done  by  two  men  of  the 
Queen's  Westminsters  above  the  KJiurbet  Subr  ridge. 
When  the  battahon  got  to  the  first  objective  an 
enemy  battery  of  77's  was  found  in  action  on  the 
reverse  slope  of  the  hill.  The  guns  were  firing  from 
a  hollow  near  the  Ain  Karim-Jerusalem  track,  some 
600  yards  behind  the  forward  trenches  on  Subr,  and 
were  showing  an  uncomfortable  activity.  A  company 
was  pushed  forward  to  engage  the  battery.  The 
movement  was  exposed  to  a  good  deal  of  sniping 
fire,  and  it  was  not  a  simple  matter  for  riflemen  to 
work  ahead  on  to  a  knoll  on  the  east  of  the  Subr 
position  to  deal  with  the  guns.  To  two  men  may 
be  given  the  credit  for  capturing  the  battery.  Lance- 
Corporal  W.  H.  Whines  of  the  Westminsters  got 
along  quickly  and  brought  his  Lewis  gun  to  bear 
on  the  battery  and,  with  an  admirably  directed  fire, 
caused  many  casualties.  Two  gun  teams  were  wiped 
out,  either  killed  or  wounded,  by  the  corporal.  At 
the  same  time  Rifieman  C.  D.  Smith,  who  had  followed 
his  comrade,  rushed  in  on  another  team  and  bombed 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  181 

it.  Smith's  rifle  had  been  smashed  and  was  useless, 
but  with  his  bombs  he  laid  low  all  except  one  man. 
His  supply  was  then  exhausted,  but  before  the  Turk 
could  use  his  weapons  Smith  got  to  grips  and  a  rare 
¥a*estling  bout  followed.  The  Turk  would  not  sur- 
render, and  Smith  gave  him  a  stranglehold  and  broke 
his  neck.  The  enemy  managed  to  get  one  of  the 
four  guns  away.  The  battery  horses  were  near  at 
hand,  but  while  this  one  gun  was  escaping  at  the 
gallop  the  Westminsters'  fire  brought  down  one  horse 
and  two  drivers,  and  I  saw  their  bodies  on  the  road 
as  evidence  of  how  the  Westminsters  had  developed 
the  art  of  shooting  at  a  rapidly  moving  target.  The 
two  incidents  I  have  described  in  detail  merely  as 
examples  of  the  fighting  prowess,  not  only  of  one 
but  of  all  three  divisions  alike  in  the  capture  of  Jeru- 
salem. Perhaps  it  would  be  fairer  to  say  that  they 
were  examples  of  the  spirit  of  General  AUenby's 
whole  force,  for  English,  Scottish,  Irish,  Welsh, 
Australians,  New  Zealanders,  Indians,  cavalry,  in- 
fantry, and  artillery,  had  all,  during  the  six  weeks 
of  the  campaign,  shown  the  same  high  qualities  in 
irresistible  attack  and  stubborn  defence. 

The  position  of  the  179th  Brigade  at  this  time 
was  about  one  mile  east  of  Ain  Karim,  where  it 
was  exposed  to  heavy  enfilade  fire  from  its  right 
and,  as  it  was  obvious  that  the  advance  of  the  53rd 
Division  had  been  delayed  owing  to  the  fog  and 
rain,  the  brigadier  decided  not  to  go  further  during 
the  early  part  of  the  day  but  to  wait  till  he  could 
be  supported  by  the  mountain  batteries,  which  the 
appalling  state  of  the  ground  had  prevented  from 
keeping  up  with  him. 

Now  as  to  the  advance  of  the  180th  Infantry 
Brigade.  Their  principal  objective  was  the  Deir 
Yesin  position,  the  hill  next  on  the  northern  side 


182  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  Subr,  from  which  it  was  separated  by  a  deep 
though  narrow  valley.  The  trenches  cut  on  both 
sides  of  this  gorge  supported  Subr  as  well  as  Deir 
Yesin,  and  the  Subr  defences  were  also  arranged 
to  be  helpful  to  the  Deir  Yesin  garrison  by 
taking  attackers  in  flank.  The  180th  Brigade's 
advance  was  a  direct  frontal  attack  on  the  hill, 
the  jumping-oft'  place  being  a  narrow  width  of 
flat  ground  thickly  planted  with  olive  trees  on 
the  banks  of  the  wadi  Surar.  The  2/1 9th  Lon- 
dons,  the  right  battahon  of  the  180th  Brigade,  had 
not  got  far  when  it  became  the  target  of  concen- 
trated machine-gun  fire  and  was  unable  to  move, 
with  the  result  that  a  considerable  gap  existed 
between  it  and  the  179th  Brigade.  The  stoppage 
was  only  temporary,  for,  with  the  advance  of  the 
centre  and  right,  the  19th  battahon  pushed  forward 
in  series  of  rushes  and,  with  the  other  battalions, 
carried  the  crest  of  Deir  Yesin  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  so  that  the  whole  system  of  entrenchments 
was  in  their  hands  by  seven  o'clock.  The  brigade 
at  once  set  about  reorganising  for  the  attack  on  the 
second  objective,  which,  as  will  be  remembered, 
was  a  wheel  to  the  left  and,  passing  well  on  the 
outside  of  the  western  suburbs  of  Jerusalem,  an 
advance  to  the  rocky  ground  to  the  north-west  of 
the  city  down  to  the  wadi  Beit  Hannina.  The 
commander  of  the  2/1 8th  Londons  in  his  prepara- 
tions had  pushed  out  a  platoon  in  advance  of  his 
left,  and  these  men  at  half-past  nine  saw  200  of  the 
enemy  with  pack  mules  retiring  down  a  wadi  north- 
east of  Kulonieh.  The  platoon  held  its  fire  imtil 
the  Turks  were  within  close  range,  and  then  engaged 
them  with  rifles  and  machine  guns,  completely  sur- 
prising them  and  taking  prisoners  the  whole  of  the 
survivors,  5  officers  and  50  men.     The  Turks  now 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  183 

began  to  develop  a  serious  opposition  to  the  180th 
Brigade  from  a  quarry  behind  Deir  Yesin  and  from 
a  group  of  houses  forming  part  of  what  is  known  as 
the  Syrian  colony,  nearly  a  mile  from  the  Deir  Yesin 
system.  There  were  some  Germans  and  a  number 
of  machine  guns  in  these  houses,  and  by  noon  they 
held  up  the  advance. 

The  brigade  was  seriously  handicapped  by  the 
difficulty  in  moving  guns.  The  road  during  the 
morning  had  got  into  a  desperate  state.  It  was 
next  to  impossible  to  haul  field  guns  anywhere  off 
the  road,  and  as  the  Turks  had  paid  no  attention  to 
the  highway  for  some  time — or  where  they  had  done 
something  it  was  merely  to  dump  down  large  stones 
to  fill  a  particularly  bad  hole — it  had  become  deeply 
rutted  and  covered  with  a  mass  of  adhesive  mud. 
The  guns  had  to  pass  down  from  Kustul  by  a  series 
of  zigzags  with  hairpin  bends  in  full  view  of  enemy 
observers,  and  it  was  only  by  the  greatest  exertion 
and  devotion  to  duty  that  the  gunners  got  their  teams 
into  the  neighbourhood  of  the  wadi.  The  bridge 
over  the  Surar  at  Kulonieh  having  been  wholly 
destroyed,  they  had  to  negotiate  the  wadi,  which 
was  now  in  torrent  and  carrying  away  the  waters 
which  had  washed  the  face  of  the  hills  over  a  wide 
area.  The  artillery  made  a  track  through  a  garden 
on  the  right  of  the  village  just  before  the  road  reached 
the  broken  bridge,  and  two  batteries,  the  301st  and 
302nd,  got  their  guns  and  Hmbers  across.  They 
went  up  the  old  track  leading  from  Kulonieh  to  Jeru- 
salem, when  first  one  section  and  then  another  came 
into  action  at  a  spot  between  Deir  Yesin  and  Heart 
Redoubt,  where  both  batteries  were  subjected  to  a 
close-range  rifle  fire. 

For  several  hours  the  artillery  fought  their  guns 
with  superb  courage,  and  remained  in  action  until 


184  HOW  JERUSALE]\r  WAS  WON 

the  fire  from  the  houses  was  silenced  by  a  brilliant 
infantry  attack.     At  half -past  one  General  Watson 
decided  he  would  attack  the  enemy  on  a  ridge  in 
front  of  the  houses  of  the  Syrian  colony  with  the 
18th  and  19th  battalions.     With  them  were  units  of 
other  battalions  of  the  Brigade.     Soon  after  three 
o'clock  they  advanced  under  heavy  fire  from  guns, 
machine  guns,  and  rifles,  and  at  a  quarter  to  four  a 
glorious  bayonet  charge,  during  which  the  London 
boys  went  through  Germans  and  Turks  in  one  over- 
whelming stride,  sealed  the  fate  of  the  Turk  in  Jeru- 
salem.    That  bayonet  charge   was  within   sight  of 
the  Corps  Commander,  who  was  with  General  Shea 
at  his   look-out  on  Kustul,  and  when  he   saw  the 
flash  of  steel  driven  home  with  unerring  certainty 
by    his    magnificent    men,    General    Chetwode    may 
well  have  felt  thankful  that  he  had  been  given  such 
troops  with  which   to  deliver   Jerusalem  from   the 
Turks.     The  74th  Division,  having  taken  the  whole 
of  its  first  objectives  early  in  the  morning  and  having 
throughout  the  day  supported  the  left  of  the  London 
Division,  was  ready  to  commence  operations  against 
the  second  objective.     The  dismounted  yeomanry, 
whose    condition    through    the    wet    and    mud   was 
precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  60th  Division  troops, 
for  they,  too,  had  found  the  hills  barren  of  shelter 
and  equally  cold,  did  extremely  well  in  forcing  the 
enemy    from    his    stronghold    on    the    hill    covering 
Beit  Iksa  and  the  Kulonieh-Jerusalem  road,  from 
which,  had  he  not  been  ejected,  he  could  have  harassed 
the  Londoners'  left.     The  Beit  Iksa  defences  were 
carried    by    a    most    determined    rush.     A    gallant 
attempt  was  also  made  to  get  the  El  Burj  ridge  which 
rmis  south-east  from  Nebi  Samwil,  but  owing  to  strong 
enfilade  fire  from  the  right  they  could  not  get  on. 
There  was  no  doubt  in  any  minds  that  Jerusalem 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  185 

would  be  ours,  but  the  difficulties  the  53rd  Division 
were  contending  with  had  slowed  down  their  advance. 
Thus  the  right  flank  of  the  60th  Division  was  exposed 
and    a  considerable  body  of  Turks  was    known  to 
be  south  of  Jerusalem.     Late  in  the  afternoon  the 
advance  was  ordered  to  be  stopped,  and  the  positions 
gained  to  be  held.     With  a  view  to  continuing  the 
advance  next  day  the  181st  Brigade  (2/21st  London, 
2/22nd  London,  2/23rd  London,  and  2/24th  London) 
was  ordered  to  get  into  a  position  of  readiness  to  pass 
through  the  179th  Brigade  and  resume  the  attack  on 
the  right  of  the  180th  Brigade.     On  the  evening  of 
December    8    the    position    of   the    attacking    force 
was  this.     The  53rd  Division  (I  will  deal  presently 
with  the  advance  of  this  Division)  was  across  the 
Bethlehem-Hebron  road  from  El  Keiseraniyeh,  two 
miles  south  of  Bethlehem,  to  Has  el  Balua  in  an 
east  and  west  direction,  then  north-west  to  the  hill 
of  Haud  Kibriyan  with  its  flank  thrown  south  to 
cover   Kh.  el   Kuseir.     The    10th   Australian  Light 
Horse  were  at  Malhah.     The  179th  and  180th  Bri- 
gades of  the  60th  Division  occupied  positions  ex- 
tending from  Malhah  through  a  line  more  than  a 
mile  east  of  the  captured  defences  west  of  Jerusalem 
to  Lifta,  with  the  181st  Brigade  in  divisional  reserve 
near  Kustul.     The  229th  and  230th  Brigades  of  the 
74th  Division  held  a  due  north  and  south  line  from 
the    Jaffa-Jerusalem   road    about   midway   between 
Kulonieh  and  Lifta  through  Beit  Iksa  to  Nebi  Samwil. 
The  53rd  Division  had  not  reached  their  line  without 
enormous  trouble.     But  for  the  two  days'  rain  and 
fog  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  whole  of  the  four 
objectives  planned  by  the  XXth  Corps  would  have 
been  gained,  and  whether  any  substantial  body  of 
Turks  could  have  left  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  by 
either  the  Nablus  or  Jericho  roads  is  doubtful.     The 


186  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

weather  proved  to  be  the  Turks'   ally.     The  53rd 
Division  battled  against  it.     Until  fog  came  down 
to  prevent  reconnaissance  in  an  extremely  bad  bit 
of  country  they  were  well  up  to  their  march  table, 
and  in  the  few  clear  moments  of  the  afternoon  of 
the  7th,  Getieral  IMott,  from  the  top  of  Ras  esh  Sheri- 
feh,  a  hill  3237  feet  high,  the  most  prominent  feature 
south  of  Jerusalem,  caught  a  glimpse  of  Bethlehem 
and  the  Holy  City.     It  was  only  a  temporary  break 
in  the  weather,  and  the  fog  came  down  again  so 
thick  that  neither  the  positions  of  the  Bethlehem 
defences  nor  those  of  Beit  Jala  could  be  reconnoitred. 
The  Division,  after  withstanding  the  repeated  shocks 
of  enemy  attacks  at  Khuweilfeh  immediately  follow- 
ing the  taking  of  Beersheba,  had  had  a  comparatively 
light  time  watching  the  Hebron  road.     They  con- 
structed a  track  over  the  mountains  to  get  the  Divi- 
sion to  Dharahiyeh  when  it    should   be  ordered  to 
take  part  in  the  attack  on  the  Jerusalem  defences, 
and  while  they  were  waiting  at  Dilbeih  they  did 
much  to  improve  the  main  road.     The  famous  zig- 
zag on  the  steep  ridge  between  Dharahiyeh  and  Dilbeih 
was  in  good  condition,  and  you  saw  German  thorough- 
ness in  the  gradients,  in  the  well-banked  bends,  and 
in  the  masonry  walls  which  held  up  the  road  where 
it  had  been  cut  in  the  side  of  a  hill.     It  was  the  most 
difficult  part  of  the  road,  and  the  Grermans  had  taken 
as  much  care  of  it  as  they  would  of  a  road  in  the 
Fatherland — because  it  was  the  way  by  which  they 
hoped  to  get  to  the  Suez  Canal.     Other  portions  of 
the  road  required  renewing,  and  the  labour  which 
the  Welshmen  devoted  to  the  work  helped  the  feeding 
of  the  Division  not  only  during  the  march  to  Jeru- 
salem but  for  several  weeks  after  it  had  passed  through 
it  to  the  hiUs  on  the  east  and  north-east.     The  rations 
and  stores  for  this  Division  were  carried  by  the  main 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  187 

railway  through  Shellal  to  Karm,  were  thence  trans- 
ported by  hmber  to  a  point  on  the  Turks'  hne  to 
Beersheba,  which  had  been  repaired  but  was  without 
engines,  were  next  hauled  in  trucks  by  mules  on 
the  railway  track,  and  finally  placed  in  lorries  at 
Beersheba  for  carriage  up  the  Hebron  road.  At  this 
time  the  capacity  of  the  Latron- Jerusalem  road 
was  taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  every  bit  of  the  Welsh- 
men's spadework  was  repaid  a  hundredfold.  The 
159th  Brigade  got  into  Hebron  on  the  night  of  the 
5th  of  December,  but  instead  of  going  north  of  it — 
if  they  had  done  so  an  enemy  cavalry  patrol  would 
have  seen  them — they  set  to  work  to  repair  the  road 
through  the  old  Biblical  town,  for  the  enemy  had 
blown  holes  in  the  highway.  Next  day  the  infantry 
had  a  ten-miles'  march  and  made  the  wadi  Arab,  a 
brigade  being  left  in  Hebron  to  watch  that  area,  the 
natives  of  which  were  reported  as  not  being  wholly 
favourable  to  us.  There  were  many  rifles  in  the 
place,  and  a  number  of  unarmed  Turks  were  beheved 
to  be  in  the  rough  country  between  the  town  and 
the  Dead  Sea  ready  to  return  to  take  up  arms. 
Armoured  cars  also  remained  in  Hebron.  The  in- 
fantry and  field  artillery  occupied  the  roads  during 
the  day,  and  the  heavy  guns  came  along  at  night 
and  joined  the  infantry  as  the  latter  were  about  to 
set  off  again. 

On  the  night  of  the  6th  the  Division  got  to  a  strong 
line  unopposed  and  saw  enemy  cavalry  on  the  southern 
end  of  Sherifeh,  on  which  the  Turks  had  constructed 
a  powerful  system  of  defences,  the  traverses  and 
breastworks  of  which  were  excellently  made.  In 
front  of  the  hill  the  road  took  a  bend  to  the  west, 
and  the  whole  of  the  highway  from  this  point  was 
exposed  to  the  ground  in  enemy  hands  south  of 
Bethlehem,  and  it  was  necessary  to  make  good  the 


188  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

hills  to  the  east  before  we  could  control  this  road. 
Next  moriimg  the  7th  Cheshires,  supported  by  the 
4th  Welsh,  deployed  and  advanced  direct  on  Sherifeh 
and  gained  the  summit  soon  after  dawn  in  time  to 
see  small  parties  of  enemy  cavalry  moving  off  ;  then 
the  fog  and  rain  enveloped  everything.  The  4th 
Welsh  held  the  hill  during  the  night  in  pouring  rain 
with  no  rations — pack  mules  could  not  get  up  the 
height — and  the  men  having  no  greatcoats  were 
perished  with  the  cold.  Colonel  Pemberton,  their 
CO.,  came  down  to  report  the  men  all  right,  and 
asked  for  no  relief  till  the  morning  when  they  could 
be  brought  back  to  their  transport.  The  General 
went  beyond  Solomon's  Pools  and  was  withm  rifle 
fire  from  the  Turkish  trenches  in  his  efforts  to  re- 
connoitre, but  it  was  impossible  to  see  ahead,  and 
instead  of  being  able  to  begin  his  attack  in  the  Beit 
Jala-Bethlehem  area  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  that 
morning  arrived  before  any  reconnaissance  could  be 
made.  He  decided  to  attack  on  the  high  ground  of 
Beit  Jala  (two  miles  north-west  of  Bethlehem)  from 
the  south,  to  send  his  divisional  cavalry,  the  West- 
minster Dragoons,  on  the  infantry's  left  to  threaten 
Beit  Jala  from  the  west  and  to  refuse  Bethlehem. 

Before  developing  this  attack  it  was  essential  to 
drive  the  enemy  off  the  observation  post  looking 
down  upon  the  main  road  along  which  the  guns  and 
troops  had  to  pass.  The  fog  enabled  the  guns  to 
pass  up  the  road,  although  the  Turks  had  seven 
mountain  guns  in  the  gardens  of  a  big  house  south  of 
Bethlehem  and  had  registered  the  road  to  a  yard. 
They  also  had  a  heavy  gim  outside  the  town.  The 
weather  cleared  at  intervals  about  noon,  but  about 
two  o'clock  a  dense  fog  came  down  again  and  once 
more  the  advance  was  held  up.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
the  Welsh  Division  troops  reached  the  high  ground 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  189 

west  and  south-west  of  Beit  Jala,  but  the  defences 
of  Bethlehem  on  the  south  had  still  to  be  taken. 
Advance  guards  were  sent  into  Bethlehem  and  Beit 
Jala  during  the  night,  and  by  early  morning  of  the 
9th  it  was  foimd  that  the  enemy  had  left,  and  the 
leading  brigade  pressed  on,  reaching  Mar  Elias,  midway 
between  Bethlehem  and  Jerusalem,  by  eleven  o'clock, 
and  the  southern  outskirts  of  Jerusalem  an  hour  later. 
Meanwhile  the  60th  and  74th  Divisions  had  actively 
patrolled  their  fronts  during  the  night,  and  the  Turks 
having  tasted  the  quahty  of  British  bayonets  made 
no  attempt  to  recover  any  of  the  lost  positions.  We 
had  outposts  well  up  the  road  above  Lifta,  and  at 
haK-past  eight  they  saw  a  white  flag  approaching. 
The  nearest  officer  was  a  commander  of  the  302nd 
Brigade  Royal  Field  Artillery,  to  whom  the  Mayor, 
the  head  of  the  Husseiny  family,  descendants  of  the 
Prophet  and  hereditary  mayors  of  Jerusalem,  signi- 
fied his  desire  to  surrender  the  City.  The  Mayor 
was  accompanied  by  the  Chief  of  Police  and  two  of 
the  gendarmerie,  and  while  communications  were 
passing  between  General  Shea,  General  Chetwode  and 
General.  Headquarters,  General  Watson  rode  as  far  as 
the  Jaffa  Gate  of  the  Holy  City  to  learn  what  was 
happening  in  the  town.  I  believe  Major  Montagu 
Cooke,  one  of  the  officers  of  the  302nd  Artillery 
Brigade,  was  the  first  officer  actually  in  the  town,  and 
I  understand  that  whilst  he  and  his  orderly  were  in 
the  Post  Office  a  substantial  body  of  Turks  turned 
the  corner  outside  the  building  and  passed  down  the 
Jericho  road  quite  unconscious  of  the  near  presence 
of  a  British  officer.  General  Shea  was  deputed  by 
the  Commander-in-Chief  to  enter  Jerusalem  in  order 
to  accept  the  surrender  of  the  City.  It  was  a  simple 
little  ceremony,  lastuig  but  a  minute  or  two,  free 
from  any  display  of  strength,  and  a  fitting  prelude 


/ 


190  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

to  Greneral  Allenby's  official  entry.  At  half-past 
twelve  General  Shea,  with  his  aide-de-camp  and  a 
guard  of  honour  furnished  by  the  2/1 7th  Londons, 
met  the  Mayor,  who  formally  surrendered  the  City. 
To  the  Chief  of  Pohce  General  Shea  gave  instructions 
for  the  maintenance  of  order,  and  guards  were  placed 
over  the  pubhc  buildings.  Then  the  commander 
of  the  60th  Division  left  to  continue  the  direction 
of  his  troops  who  were  making  the  Holy  City  secure 
from  Turkish  attacks.  I  believe  the  official  report 
ran  :  '  Thus  at  12.30  the  Holy  City  was  surrendered 
for  the  twenty-third  time,  and  for  the  first  time  to 
British  arms,  and  on  this  occasion  without  bloodshed 
among  the  inhabitants  or  damage  to  the  buildings 
^  the  City  itself.' 

Simple  as  was  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem,  there 
were  scenes  in  the  streets  during  the  short  half-hour 
of  General  Shea's  visit  which  reflected  the  feeling 
of  half  the  civilised  world  on  receiving  the  news. 
It  was  a  world  event.  This  deliverance  of  Jeru- 
salem from  Turkish  misgovernment  was  bound  to 
stir  the  emotions  of  Christian,  Jewish,  and  Moslem 
communities  in  the  two  hemispheres.  In  a  war  in 
which  the  moral  effect  of  victories  was  only  shghtly 
less  important  than  a  big  strategical  triumph,  Jeru- 
salem was  one  of  the  strongest  possible  positions 
for  the  AUies  to  win,  and  it  is  not  making  too  great 
a  claim  to  say  that  the  capture  of  the  Holy  City  by 
British  arms  gave  more  satisfaction  to  countless 
miUions  of  people  than  did  the  winning  back  for  France 
of  any  big  town  on  the  Western  Front.  The  latter 
might  be  more  important  from  a  military  standpoint, 
but  among  the  people,  especially  neutrals,  it  would 
be  regarded  merely  as  a  passing  incident  in  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  tide  of  war.  Bagdad  had  an  important 
influence  on  the  Eastern  mind  ;  Jerusalem  affected 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  191 

Christian,  Jew,  and  Moslem  alike  the  world  over. 
The  War  Cabinet  regarded  the  taking  of  Jerusalem 
by  British  Imperial  troops  in  so  important  a  light 
that  orders  were  given  to  hold  up  correspondents' 
messages  and  any  telegrams  the  military  attaches 
might  write  until  the  annomicement  of  the  victory 
had  been  made  to  the  world  by  a  Minister  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  This  instruction  was  officially 
commimicated  to  me  before  we  took  Jerusalem, 
and  I  beheve  it  was  the  case  that  the  world  received 
the  first  news  when  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Govern- 
ment gave  it  to  the  chosen  representatives  of  the 
British  people  in  the  Mother  of  ParUaments. 

The  end  of  Ottoman  dominion  over  the  cradle  of 
Christianity,  a  place  held  in  reverence  by  the  vast 
majority  of  the  peoples  of  the  Old  and  New  World, 
made  a  deep  and  abiding  impression,  and  as  long  as 
people  hold  dearly  to  their  faiths,  sentiment  will  make 
General  Allenby's  victory  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs 
of  the  war.  The  reUef  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem, 
as  well  as  their  confidence  that  we  were  there  to 
stay,  manifested  itself  when  General  Shea  drove  into 
the  City.  The  news  had  gone  abroad  that  the 
General  was  to  arrive  about  noon,  and  all  Jerusalem 
came  into  the  streets  to  welcome  him.  They  clapped 
their  hands  and  raised  shrill  cries  of  dehght  in  a 
babel  of  tongues.  Women  threw  flowers  into  the 
car  and  spread  palm  leaves  on  the  road.  Scarcely 
had  the  Turks  left,  probably  before  they  had  all 
gone  and  while  the  guns  were  still  banging  outside 
the  entrances  to  Jerusalem,  stray  pieces  of  bunting 
which  had  done  duty  on  many  another  day  were 
hung  out  to  signify  the  popular  pleasure  at  the  end 
of  an  old,  hard,  extortionate  regime  and  the  beginning 
of  an  era  of  happiness  and  freedom. 

After  leaving   Jerusalem   the   enemy  took  up   a 


192  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

strong  position  on  the  hills  north  and  north-east 
of  the  City  from  which  he  had  to  be  driven  before 
Jerusalem  was  secure  from  counter-attack.  During 
the  morning  General  Chetwode  gave  orders  for  a 
general  advance  to  the  Une  laid  down  in  his  original 
plan  of  attack,  which  may  be  described  as  the  pre- 
liminary hne  for  the  defence  of  Jerusalem.  The 
180th  and  181st  Brigades  were  already  on  the  move, 
and  some  of  the  53rd  Division  had  marched  by  the 
main  road  outside  the  Holy  City's  walls  to  positions 
from  which  they  were  to  attempt  to  drive  the  enemy 
off  the  Momit  of  Ohves.  The  180th  Brigade,  fresh 
and  strong  but  stiU  wet  and  muddy,  went  forward 
rapidly  over  the  boulders  on  the  hiUs  east  of  the 
wadi  Beit  Hannina  and  occupied  the  rugged  height 
of  Shafat  at  haK-past  one.  Shafat  is  about  two 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  In  another  half-hour 
they  had  driven  the  Turks  from  the  conical  top  of 
Tel  el  Ful,  that  sugar-loaf  hill  which  dominates  the 
Nablus  road,  and  which  before  the  end  of  the  year 
was  to  be  the  scene  of  an  epic  struggle  between  Lon- 
doner and  Turk.  The  181st  Brigade,  on  debouching 
from  the  suburbs  of  Jerusalem  north-east  of  Lifta, 
was  faced  with  heavy  machine-gun  and  rifle  fire  on 
the  ridge  running  from  the  western  edge  of  the  Mount 
of  Ohves  across  the  Nablus  road  through  Kh.  es  Salah. 
On  the  left  the  180th  Brigade  lent  support,  and  at 
four  o'clock  the  2/21st  and  2/24th  Londons  rushed 
the  ridge  with  the  bayonet  and  drove  off  the  Turks, 
who  left  seventy  dead  behind  them.  The  London 
Division  that  night  estabhshed  itself  on  the  line  from 
a  point  a  thousand  yards  north  of  Jerusalem  and  east 
of  the  Nablus  road  through  Ras  Meshari  to  Tel  el  Ful, 
thence  w^estwards  to  the  wadi  behind  the  ohve 
orchards  south  of  Beit  Hannina.  The  74th  Division 
reached  its  objective  without  violent  opposition,  and 


OKFICIAL  ENTRY  INTO  THK  HOLY  CITY.     GENERAL  ALLENBY 
ARRIVLXC;  OUTSIDE  THE  JAFFA  GATE 


THE  DELIVERANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  CITY  193 

its  line  ran  from  north  of  Nebi  Samwil  to  the  height 
of  Beit  Hannina  and  out  towards  Tel  el  Ful.  The 
53rd  Division  was  strongly  opposed  when  it  got 
round  the  south-east  of  Jerusalem  on  to  the  Jericho 
road  in  the  direction  of  Aziriyeh  (Bethany),  and  it 
was  necessary  to  clear  the  Turks  from  the  Mount  of 
OHves.  Troops  of  the  Welsh  Division  moved  round 
the  Holy  City  and  drove  the  enemy  off  the  Mount, 
following  them  down  the  eastern  spurs,  and  thus 
denied  them  any  direct  observation  over  Jerusalem. 
The  next  day  they  pushed  the  enemy  still  farther 
eastwards,  and  by  the  night  of  the  10th  held  the  line 
from  the  well  at  Azad,  4000  yards  south-east  of 
Jerusalem,  the  hill  1500  yards  south  of  Aziriyeh, 
Aziriyeh  itself,  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  whence  our 
positions  continued  to  Ras  et  Tawil,  north  of  Tel  el 
Ful  across  the  Nablus  road  to  Nebi  Samwil.  This 
was  our  first  line  of  positions  for  the  defence  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  we  continued  to  hold  these  strong  points 
for  some  time.  They  were  gradually  extended  on 
the  east  and  north-east  by  the  Welsh  Division  in 
order  to  prevent  an  attack  from  the  direction  of 
Jericho,  where  we  knew  the  Turks  had  received 
reinforcements.  Indeed,  during  our  attack  on  the 
Jerusalem  position  the  Turks  had  withdrawn  a 
portion  of  their  force  on  the  Hedjaz  railway.  A 
regiment  had  passed  through  Jericho  from  the  Hedjaz 
line  at  Amman  and  was  marching  up  the  road  to 
assist  in  Jerusalem's  defence,  but  was  '  Too  late.' 
The  regiment  was  turned  back  when  we  had  captured 
Jerusalem.  Our  casualties  from  November  28  to 
December  10 — these  figures  include  the  heavy  fighting 
about  Tahta,  Foka,  and  Nebi  Samwil  prior  to  the 
XXth  Corps'  attack  on  the  Jerusalem  defences — 
were :  officers,  21  killed,  64  wounded,  3  missing  ; 
other  ranks,  247  killed,  1163  wounded,  169  missing, 

N 


194  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

a  total  of  1667.  The  casualties  of  the  60th  Division 
during  the  attack  on  and  advance  north  of  Jerusalem 
on  December  8-9  are  interesting,  because  they  were 
so  extremely  light  considering  the  strength  of  the 
defences  captured  and  the  difficulties  of  the  ground, 
namely :  8  officers  killed  and  24  wounded,  98  other 
ranks  killed,  420  wounded  and  3  missing,  a  total  of 
553.  The  total  for  the  whole  of  the  XXth  Corps  on 
these  days  was  12  officers  killed,  35  wounded,  and 
137  other  ranks  killed,  636  wounded  and  7  missing 
— in  all  47  officers  and  780  other  ranks.  The  pris- 
oners taken  from  November  28  to  December  10  were  : 
76  officers,  1717  other  ranks  —  total,  1793.  On 
December  8  and  9,  68  officers  and  918  other  ranks — 
986  in  all — were  captured.  The  booty  included  two 
4*2  Krupp  howitzers,  three  77-mm.  field  guns  and 
carriages,  nine  heavy  and  three  fight  machine  guns, 
137  boxes  of  small-arms  ammunition,  and  103,000 
loose  rounds. 


fl  Kufif^'i 


^M    28th.  *  29th.         i/^  T. :.*••■» •■O  fc. 


Mpz)-irat  rl  Kihllyeh 


lb"  Month  Pn^Kc'^  ^ 


;ipal  Road*  Othe--  Roada 

**"•*""  ■♦■    Railways 

■■■  Attack  on  Jerusalem 
i>—   Advance  from  Jerusalem 


OeOROE  Philip  &  Son.  lto 


CHAPTER  XV 
GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY 

Jerusalem  became  supremely  happy. 

It  had  passed  through  the  trials,  if  not  the  perils, 
of  war.  It  had  been  the  headquarters  and  base  of 
a  Turkish  Army.  Great  bodies  of  troops  were  never 
quartered  there,  but  staffs  and  depots  were  estab- 
lished in  the  City,  and  being  in  complete  control,  the 
military  paid  little  regard  to  the  needs  of  the  popu- 
lation. Unfortunately  a  not  inconsiderable  section 
of  Jerusalem's  inhabitants  is  content  to  live,  not  by 
its  own  handiwork,  but  on  the  gifts  of  charitable  re- 
ligious people  of  all  creeds.  When  war  virtually  shut 
off  Jerusalem  from  the  outer  world  the  lot  of  the  poor 
became  precarious.  The  food  of  the  country,  just 
about  sufficient  for  self-support,  was  to  a  large  extent 
commandeered  for  the  troops,  and  while  prices  rose 
the  poor  could  not  buy,  and  either  their  appeals  did 
not  reach  the  benevolent  or  funds  were  intercepted. 
Deaths  from  starvation  were  numbered  by  the  thou- 
sand, Jews,  Christians,  and  Moslems  alike  suffering, 
and  there  were  few  civilians  in  the  Holy  City  who 
were  not  hungry  for  months  at  a  time. 

When  I  reached  Jerusalem  the  people  were  at  the 
height  of  their  excitement  over  the  coming  of  the 
British  and  they  put  the  best  face  on  their  condition, 
but  the  freely  expressed  feeling  of  relief  that  the  days 
of  hunger  torture  were  nearly  past  did  not  remove 
the  signs  of  want  and  misery,  of  infinite  suffering  by 

195 


196  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

father,  mother,  and  child,  brought  about  by  a  long 
period  of  starvation.  That  a  people,  pale,  thin, 
bent,  whose  movements  had  become  hstless  under 
the  lash  of  hunger,  could  have  been  stirred  mto 
enthusiasm  by  the  appearance  of  a  khaki  coat,  that 
they  could  throw  off  the  lethargy  which  comes  of 
acute  want,  was  only  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
existence  of  a  profound  belief  that  we  had  been  sent 
to  dehver  them.  Some  hours  before  the  Official 
Entry  I  was  walking  in  David  Street  when  a  Jewish 
woman,  seeing  that  I  was  English,  stopped  me  and 
said :  '  We  have  prayed  for  this  day.  To-day  I  shall 
sing  "  God  Save  our  Gracious  King,  Long  Live  our 
Noble  King."  We  have  been  starving,  but  what 
does  that  matter  ?  Now  we  are  liberated  and  free.' 
She  clasped  her  hands  across  her  breasts  and  ex- 
claimed several  times,  '  Oh  how  thankful  we  are.' 
An  elderly  man  in  a  black  robe,  whose  pinched  pale 
face  told  of  a  long  period  of  want,  caught  me  by  the 
hand  and  said  :  '  God  has  delivered  us.  Oh  how 
happy  we  are.'  An  American  worker  in  a  Red 
Crescent  hospital,  who  had  hved  in  Jerusalem  for 
upwards  of  ten  years  and  knew  the  people  well, 
assured  me  there  was  not  one  person  in  the  Holy  City 
who  in  his  heart  was  not  devoutly  thankful  for  our 
victory.  He  told  me  that  on  the  day  we  captured  Nebi 
Samwil  three  wounded  Arab  officers  were  brought 
to  the  hospital.  One  of  them  spoke  English — it  was 
astonishing  how  many  people  could  speak  our  mother 
tongue — and  while  he  was  having  his  wounds  dressed 
he  exclaimed  :  '  I  can  shout  Hip  -  hip  -  hurrah  for 
England  now.'  The  officer  was  advised  to  be  careful, 
as  there  were  many  Turkish  wounded  in  the  hospital, 
but  he  replied  he  did  not  care,  and  in  unrestrained 
joy  cried  out,  '  Hurrah  for  England.' 

The  deplorable  lot  of  the  people  had  been  made 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY   197 

harder  by  profiteering  officers.  Tliose  who  had 
money  had  to  part  with  it  for  Turkish  paper.  The 
Turkish  note  was  depreciated  to  about  one-fifth  of 
its  face  value.  German  officers  traded  in  the  notes  for 
gold,  sent  the  notes  to  Germany  where,  by  a  financial 
arrangement  concluded  between  Constantinople  and 
Berhn,  they  were  accepted  at  face  value.  The 
German  officer  and  soldier  got  richer  the  more  they 
forced  Turkish  paper  down.  Turkish  officers  bought 
considerable  supplies  of  wheat  and  flour  from  mihtary 
depots,  the  cost  being  debited  against  their  pay 
which  was  paid  in  paper.  They  then  sold  the  goods 
for  gold.  That  accounted  for  the  high  prices  of 
foodstuffs,  the  price  in  gold  being  taken  for  the 
market  valuation. 

In  the  middle  of  November  when  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  the  Turks  evacuating  Jerusalem,  the  officers 
sold  out  their  stocks  of  provisions  and  prices  became 
less  prohibitive,  but  they  rose  again  quickly  when  it 
was  decided  to  defend  the  City,  and  the  cost  of  food 
mounted  to  almost  famine  prices.  The  Turks  by 
selling  for  gold  that  which  was  bought  for  paper, 
rechanging  gold  for  paper  at  their  own  prices,  made 
huge  profits  and  caused  a  heavy  depreciation  of  the 
note  at  the  expense  of  the  population.  Grain  was 
brought  from  the  district  east  of  the  Dead  Sea,  but 
none  of  it  found  its  way  to  civilian  mouths  except 
through  the  extortionate  channel  provided  by  officers. 
Yet  when  we  got  into  Jerusalem  there  were  people 
with  small  stocks  of  flour  who  were  willing  to  make 
flat  loaves  of  unleavened  bread  for  sale  to  our  troops. 
The  soldiers  had  been  living  for  weeks  on  hard  biscuit 
and  bully  beef,  and  many  were  wiUing  to  pay  a  shilling 
for  a  small  cake  of  bread.  They  did  not  know  that 
the  stock  of  flour  in  the  town  was  desperately  low 
and  that  by  buying  this  bread  they  were  almost 


198  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

taking  it  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  poor.  Some 
traders  were  so  keen  on  getting  good  money,  not 
paper,  that  they  tried  to  do  business  on  this  footing, 
looking  to  the  British  Ai^my  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the 
people.  The  Army  soon  put  a  stop  to  this  trade 
and  the  troops  were  prohibited  from  buying  bread 
in  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem.  As  it  was,  the  Quarter- 
master-General's branch  had  to  send  a  large  quantity 
of  foodstuffs  into  the  towns,  and  this  was  done  at  a 
time  when  it  was  a  most  anxious  task  to  provision 
the  troops.  Those  were  very  trying  days  for  the 
supply  and  transport  departments,  and  one  wonders 
whether  the  civilian  population  ever  reahsed  the 
extent  of  the  humanitarian  efforts  of  our  Army 
staff. 

During  the  period  when  no  attempt  was  made  to 
alleviate  the  lot  of  the  people  the  Turks  gave  them 
a  number  of  lessons  in  frightfulness.  There  were 
public  executions  to  show  the  severity  of  military 
law.  Gallows  were  erected  outside  the  Jaffa  Gate 
and  the  victims  were  left  hanging  for  hours  as  a 
warning  to  the  population.  I  have  seen  a  photo- 
graph of  six  natives  who  suffered  the  penalty,  with 
their  executioners  standing  at  the  swinging  feet  of 
their  victims.  Before  the  first  battle  of  Gaza  the 
Turks  brought  the  rich  Mufti  of  Gaza  and  his  son 
to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Mufti  was  hanged  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  throng  compulsorily  assembled  to  witness 
the  execution.  The  son  was  shot.  Their  only  crime 
was  that  they  were  beheved  to  have  expressed  ap- 
proval of  Britain's  pohcy  in  dealing  with  Moslem 
races.  Thus  were  the  people  terrorised.  They  knew 
the  Turkish  ideas  of  justice,  and  dared  not  talk  of 
events  happening  in  the  town  even  in  the  seclusion 
of  their  homes.  The  evils  of  war,  as  war  is  practised 
by  the  Turk,  left  a  mark  on  Jerusalem's  population 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY   199 

which  will  be  indelible  for  this  generation,  despite 
the  wondrous  change  our  Army  has  wrought  in  the 
people. 

When  General  Allenby  had  broken  through  the 
Gaza  hne  the  Turks  in  Jerusalem  despaired  of  saving 
the  City.  That  all  the  army  papers  were  brought 
from  Hebron  on  November  10,  shows  that  even  at 
that  date  von  Kress  still  imagined  we  would  come  up 
the  Hebron  road,  though  he  had  learnt  to  his  cost  that 
a  mighty  column  was  moving  through  the  coastal 
sector  and  that  our  cavalry  were  cutting  across  the 
country  to  join  it.  The  notorious  Enver  reached 
Jerusalem  from  the  north  on  November  12  and  went 
down  to  Hebron.  On  his  return  it  was  reported 
that  the  Turks  would  leave  Jerusalem,  the  immediate 
sale  of  officers'  stocks  of  foodstuffs  giving  colour  to 
the  rumour.  Undoubtedly  some  preparations  were 
made  to  evacuate  the  place,  but  the  temptation  to 
hold  on  was  too  great.  One  can  see  the  influence  of 
the  German  mind  in  the  Turkish  councils  of  war. 
At  a  moment  when  they  were  flashing  the  wireless 
news  throughout  the  world  that  their  Caporetto 
victory  meant  the  driving  of  Italy  out  of  the  war  they 
did  not  want  the  icy  blast  of  Jerusalem's  fall  to  tell 
of  disaster  to  their  hopes  in  the  East.  Accordingly 
on  the  16th  November  a  new  decision  was  taken  and 
Jerusalem  was  to  be  defended  to  the  last.  German 
officers  came  hurrying  south,  lorries  were  rushed  down 
with  stores  until  there  were  six  hundred  German  lorry 
drivers  and  mechanics  in  Jerusalem.  Reinforce- 
ments arrived  and  the  houses  of  the  German  Colony 
were  turned  into  nests  of  machine  guns.  The  pains 
the  Germans  were  at  to  see  their  plans  carried  out 
were  reflected  in  the  fighting  when  we  tried  to  get 
across  the  Jerusalem-Nablus  road  and  to  avoid 
fighting   in   the   neighbourhood   of   the   Holy   City. 


200  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

But  all  this  effort  availed  them  nought.  Our  dis- 
positions compelled  the  enemy  to  distribute  his 
forces,  and  when  the  attack  was  launched  the  Turk 
lacked  sufficient  men  to  man  his  defences  adequately. 
And  German  pretensions  in  the  Holy  Land,  founded 
upon  years  of  scheming  and  the  formation  of  settle- 
ments for  German  colonists  approved  and  supported 
by  the  Kaiser  himself,  were  shattered  beyond  hope 
of  recovery,  as  similar  pretensions  had  been  shattered 
at  Bagdad  by  General  Maude.  The  Turks  had  made 
their  headquarters  at  the  Hospice  of  Notre  Dame  in 
Jerusalem,  and,  taking  their  cue  from  the  Hun, 
carried  away  all  the  furniture  belonging  to  that 
French  rehgious  institution.  They  had  also  deported 
some  of  the  heads  of  religious  bodies.  Falkenhayn 
wished  that  all  Americans  should  be  removed  from 
Jerusalem,  issuing  an  order  to  that  effect  a  fortnight 
before  we  entered.  Some  members  of  the  American 
colony  had  been  running  the  Red  Crescent  hospital, 
and  Turkish  doctors  who  appreciated  their  good  work 
insisted  that  the  Americans  should  remain.  Their 
protest  prevailed  in  most  cases,  but  just  as  we  arrived 
several  Americans  were  carried  off. 

I  have  asked  many  men  who  were  engaged  in  the 
fight  for  Jerusalem  what  their  feelings  were  on 
getting  their  first  glimpse  of  the  central  spot  of 
Christendom.  Some  people  imagine  that  the  hard 
brutahties  of  war  erase  the  softer  elements  of  men's 
natures  ;  that  killing  and  the  rough  fife  of  cam- 
paigning, where  one  is  familiarised  with  the  tragedies 
of  life  every  hour  of  every  day,  where  ease  and 
comfort  are  forgotten  things,  remove  from  the 
mind  those  earlier  lessons  of  peace  on  earth  and 
goodwill  toward  men.  That  is  a  fallacy.  Every 
man  or  officer  I  spoke  to  declared  that  he  was 
seized  with  emotion  when,  looking  from  the  shell- 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY   201 

torn  summit  of  Nebi  Samwil,  he  saw  the  spires  on 
the  Mount  of  Ohves  ;  or  when  reconnoitring  from 
Kustul  he  got  a  peep  of  the  red  roofs  of  the  newer 
houses  which  surround  the  old  City.  Possibly  only 
a  small  percentage  of  the  Army  believed  they  were 
taking  part  in  a  great  mission,  not  a  great  proportion 
would  claim  to  be  reaUy  devout  men,  but  they  all 
behaved  like  Christian  gentlemen.  One  Londoner 
told  me  he  had  thought  the  scenes  of  war  had  made 
him  callous  and  that  the  ruthless  destruction  of 
those  things  fashioned  by  men's  hands  in  prosecuting 
the  arts  of  peace  had  prompted  the  feeling  that 
there  was  httle  in  civilisation  after  aU,  if  civilisation 
could  result  in  so  bitter  a  thing  as  this  awful  fighting. 
Man  seemed  as  barbaric  as  in  the  days  before  the 
Saviour  came  to  redeem  the  world,  and  whether  we 
won  or  lost  the  war  all  hopes  of  a  happier  state  of 
things  were  futile.  So  this  Cockney  imagined  that 
his  condition  showed  no  improvement  on  that  of 
the  savage  warrior  of  two  thousand  years  ago,  except 
in  that  civiHsation  had  developed  finer  weapons  to 
kill  with  and  be  killed  by.  The  finer  instincts  had 
been  blunted  by  the  naked  and  unashamed  horrors 
of  war.  But  the  lessons  taught  him  before  war 
scourged  the  world  came  back  to  him  on  getting 
his  first  view  of  the  Holy  City.  He  felt  that  sense 
of  emotion  which  makes  one  wish  to  be  alone  and 
think  alone.  He  was  on  the  ground  where  Sacred 
History  was  made,  perhaps  stood  on  the  rock  the 
Saviour's  foot  had  trod.  In  the  deep  stirring  of  his 
emotions  the  rougher  edges  of  his  nature  became 
rounded  by  feelings  of  sympathy  and  a  behef  that 
good  would  come  out  of  the  evil  of  this  strife.  That 
view  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  knowledge  of  what  the 
Holy  Sites  stand  for,  made  him  a  better  man  and  a 
better  fighting  man,  and  he  had  no  doubt  the  first 


202  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

distant  glimpse  of  the  Holy  City  had  similarly  affected 
the  bulk  of  the  Army.  That  bad  language  is  used 
by  almost  all  troops  in  the  field  is  notorious,  but  in 
Jerusalem  one  seldom  heard  an  oath  or  an  indecent 
word.  When  Jerusalem  was  won  and  small  parties 
of  our  soldiers  were  allowed  to  see  the  Holy  City, 
their  pohteness  to  the  inhabitants,  patriarch  or  priest, 
trader  or  beggar,  man  or  woman,  rebuked  the  thought 
that  the  age  of  chivalry  was  past,  while  the  reverent 
attitude  involuntarily  adopted  by  every  man  when 
seeing  the  Sacred  Places  suggested  that  no  Crusader 
Army  or  band  of  pilgrims  ever  came  to  the  Holy 
Land  imder  a  more  pious  influence.  Many  times 
have  I  watched  the  troops  of  General  Allenby  in  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem.  They  bore  themselves  as 
soldiers  and  gentlemen,  and  if  they  had  been  selected 
to  go  there  simply  to  impress  the  people  they  could 
not  have  more  worthily  upheld  the  good  fame  of 
their  nation.  These  soldier  missionaries  of  the  Em- 
pire left  behind  them  a  record  which  will  be  remem- 
bered for  generations. 

If  it  had  been  possible  to  consult  the  British  people 
as  to  the  details  to  be  observed  at  the  ceremony  of 
the  Official  Entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  vast  majority 
would  surely  have  approved  General  AUenby's  pro- 
gramme. Americans  tell  us  the  British  as  a  nation 
do  not  know  how  to  advertise.  Our  part  in  the  war 
generally  proves  the  accuracy  of  that  statement, 
but  the  Official  Entry  into  Jerusalem  will  stand  out 
as  one  great  exception.  By  omitting  to  make  a 
great  parade  of  his  victory — one  may  count  elaborate 
ceremonial  as  advertisement — General  Allenby  gave 
Britain  her  best  advertisement.  The  simple,  digni- 
fied, and,  one  may  also  justly  say,  humble  order  of 
ceremony  was  the  creation  of  a  truly  British  mind. 
To  impress  the  inhabitant  of  the  East  things  must 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY  203 

be  done  on  a  lavish  ostentatious  scale,  for  gold  and 
glitter  and  tinsel  go  a  long  way  to  form  a  native's 
estimate  of  power.  But  there  are  times  when  the 
native  is  shrewd  enough  to  realise  that  pomp  and 
circumstance  do  not  always  indicate  strength,  and 
that  dignity  is  more  powerful  than  display.  Contrast 
the  German  Emperor's  visit  to  Jerusalem  with 
General  AUenby's  Official  Entry.  The  Kaiser  brought 
a  retinue  clothed  in  white  and  red,  and  blue  and  gold, 
with  richly  caparisoned  horses,  and,  like  a  true  show- 
man, he  himself  affected  some  articles  of  Arab 
dress.  He  rode  into  the  Holy  City — where  One 
before  had  walked — and  a  wide  breach  was  even 
made  in  those  ancient  walls  for  a  German  progress. 
All  this  to  advertise  the  might  and  power  of 
Germany. 

In  parenthesis  I  may  state  we  are  going  to  restore 
those  walls  to  the  condition  they  were  in  before 
German  hands  defiled  them.  The  General  who  by 
capturing  Jerusalem  helped  us  so  powerfully  to  bring 
Germany  to  her  knees  and  humble  her  before  the 
world,  entered  on  foot  by  an  ancient  way,  the  Jaffa 
Gate,  called  by  the  native  '  Bab-el-Khahl,'  or  the 
Friend.  In  this  hallowed  spot  there  was  no  great 
pageantry  of  arms,  no  pomp  and  panoply,  no  display 
of  the  mighty  strength  of  a  victorious  army,  no 
thunderous  salutes  to  acclaim  a  world-resounding 
victory  destined  to  take  its  place  in  the  chronicles 
of  aU  time.  There  was  no  enemy  flag  to  haul  down 
and  no  flags  were  hoisted.  There  were  no  soldier 
shouts  of  triumph  over  a  defeated  foe,  no  bells  in 
ancient  belfrys  rang,  no  Te  Deums  were  sung,  and 
no  preacher  mounted  the  rostrum  to  eulogise  the 
victors  or  to  point  the  moral  to  the  multitude.  A 
small,  almost  meagre  procession,  consisting  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief  and  his  Staff,  with  a  guard  of 


204  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

honour,  less  than  150  all  told,  passed  tlirough  the 
gate  unheralded  by  a  single  trumpet  note  ;  a  purely 
military  act  with  a  minimum  of  military  display  told 
the  people  that  the  old  order  had  changed,  yielding 
place  to  new.  The  native  mind,  keen,  discerning, 
receptive,  understood  the  meaning  and  depth  of 
this  simplicity,  and  from  the  moment  of  high  noon 
on  December  11,  1917,  when  General  AUenby  went 
into  the  Mount  Zion  quarter  of  the  Holy  City,  the 
British  name  rested  on  a  foundation  as  certain  and 
sure  as  the  rock  on  which  the  Holy  City  stands. 
Right  down  in  the  hearts  of  a  people  who  cHng  to 
Jerusalem  with  the  deepest  reverence  and  piety 
there  was  unfeigned  dehght.  They  reahsed  that 
four  centuries  of  Ottoman  dominion  over  the  Holy 
City  of  Christians  and  Jews,  and  '  the  sanctuary  '  of 
Mahomedans,  had  ended,  and  that  Jerusalem  the 
Golden,  the  central  Site  of  Sacred  History,  was 
liberated  for  all  creeds  from  the  blighting  influence 
of  the  Turk.  And  while  war  had  wrought  this  bene- 
ficent change  the  population  saw  in  this  epoch- 
marking  victory  a  merciful  guiding  Hand,  for  it  had 
been  achieved  without  so  much  as  a  stone  of  the 
City  being  scratched  or  a  particle  of  its  ancient  dust 
disturbed.  The  Sacred  Monuments  and  everything 
connected  with  the  Great  Life  and  its  teaching  were 
passed  on  untouched  by  our  Army.  Rightly  did 
the  people  rejoice. 

When  General  Allenby  went  into  Jerusalem  all 
fears  had  passed  away.  The  Official  Entry  was 
made  while  there  was  considerable  fighting  on  the 
north  and  east  of  the  City,  where  our  lines  were 
nowhere  more  than  7000  yards  off.  The  guns  were 
firing,  the  sounds  of  bursts  of  musketry  were  carried 
down  on  the  wind,  whilst  droning  aeroplane  engines 
in  the  deep -blue  vault  overhead  told  of  our  flying 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY   205 

men  denying  a  passage  to  enemy  machines.  The 
stern  voices  of  war  were  there  in  aU  their  harsh 
discordancy,  but  the  people  knew  they  were  safe  in 
the  keeping  of  British  soldiers  and  came  out  to  make 
holiday.  General  Allenby  motored  into  the  suburbs 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  road  from  Latron  which  the 
pioneers  had  got  into  some  sort  of  order.  The  busi- 
ness of  war  was  going  on,  and  the  General's  car  took 
its  place  on  the  highway  on  even  terms  with  the  lorry, 
which  at  that  time  when  supplying  the  front  was 
the  most  urgent  task  and  had  priority  on  the  roads. 
The  people  had  put  on  gala  raiment.  From  the 
outer  fringe  of  Jerusalem  the  Jaffa  road  was  blocked 
not  merely  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  but  with 
people  who  had  followed  in  the  Army's  wake  from 
Bethlehem.  It  was  a  picturesque  throng.  There 
were  sombre-clad  Jews  of  all  nationaUties,  Armenians, 
Greeks,  Russians,  and  all  the  peoples  who  make 
Jerusalem  the  most  cosmopoUtan  of  cities.  To  the 
many  styles  of  European  dress  the  brighter  robes 
of  the  East  gave  vivid  colour,  and  it  was  obvious 
from  the  remarkably  free  and  spontaneous  expression 
of  joy  of  these  people,  who  at  the  end  of  three  years 
of  war  had  such  strong  faith  in  our  fight  for  freedom, 
that  they  recognised  freedom  was  permanently  won 
to  all  races  and  creeds  by  the  victory  at  Jerusalem. 
The  most  significant  of  all  the  signs  was  the  attitude 
of  Moslems.  The  Turks  had  preached  the  Holy  War, 
but  they  knew  the  hollowness  of  the  cry,  and  the 
natives,  abandoning  their  natural  reserve,  joined  m 
loud  expression  of  welcome.  From  flat-topped  roofs, 
balconies,  and  streets  there  were  cries  of  '  Bravo  ! ' 
and  '  Hurrah  ! '  uttered  by  men  and  women  who 
probably  never  spoke  the  words  before,  and  quite 
close  to  the  Jaffa  Gate  I  saw  three  old  Mahomedans 
clap  their  hands  while  tears  of  joy  coursed  down  their 


206  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

cheeks.  Their  hearts  were  too  full  to  utter  a  word. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  this 
enthusiasm.  The  crowd  was  more  demonstrative 
than  is  usual  with  popular  assembhes  in  the  East, 
but  the  note  struck  was  not  one  of  jubilation  so  much 
as  of  thankfulness  at  the  relief  from  an  insufferable 
bondage  of  bad  government.  Outside  the  Jaffa 
Gate  was  an  Imperial  guard  of  honour  drawn  from 
men  who  had  fought  stoutly  for  the  victory.  In  the 
British  Guard  of  fifty  of  all  ranks  were  English, 
Scottish,  Irish,  and  Welsh  troops,  steel-helmeted  and 
carrying  the  kit  they  had  an  hour  or  two  earlier 
brought  with  them  from  the  front  line.  Opposite 
them  were  fifty  dismounted  men  of  the  AustraHan 
Light  Horse  and  New  Zealand  Mounted  Rifles,  the 
AustraUans,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Throssel, 
V.C.,  being  drawn  from  the  10th  Light  Horse  regiment, 
which  had  been  employed  in  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 
on  the  right  of  the  London  Division.  These  Colonial 
troops  had  earned  their  place,  for  they  had  done  the 
work  of  the  vanguard  in  the  Sinai  Desert,  and  their 
victories  over  the  Turks  on  many  a  hard-won  field 
in  the  torrid  heat  of  summer  had  paved  the  way  for 
this  greater  triumph.  A  French  and  an  Italian 
guard  of  honour  was  posted  inside  the  Jaffa  Gate. 
As  I  have  previously  said,  the  Italians  had  held  a 
portion  of  the  line  in  front  of  Gaza  with  a  composite 
brigade,  but  the  French  troops  had  not  yet  been  in 
action  in  Palestine,  though  their  Navy  had  assisted 
with  a  battleship  in  the  Gaza  bombardment.  We 
welcomed  the  participation  of  the  representatives  of 
our  Alhes  in  the  Official  Entry,  as  it  showed  to  those 
of  their  nationaUty  in  Jerusalem  that  we  were 
fighting  the  battle  of  freedom  for  them  all.  Outside 
the  Jaffa  Gate  the  Commander-in-Chief  was  received 
by  Major-General  Borton,  who  had  been  appointed 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY  207 

Military  Governor  of  the  City,  and  a  procession 
being  formed,  General  Allenby  passed  between  the 
iron  gates  to  within  the  City  walls.  Preceded  by 
two  aides-de-camp  the  Commander-in-Chief  advanced 
with  the  commander  of  the  French  Palestine  detach- 
ment on  his  right  and  the  commander  of  the  Italian 
Palestine  detachment  on  his  left.  Four  Staff  officers 
followed.  Then  came  Brigadier- General  Clayton, 
Pohtical  Officer;  M.  Picot,  head  of  the  French 
IVIission ;  and  the  French,  Italian,  and  United  States 
Military  Attaches.  The  Chief  of  the  General  Staff 
(Major  -  General  Sir  L.  J.  Bols)  and  the  Brigadier - 
General  General  Staff  (Brigadier-General  G.  Dawnay) 
marched  slightly  ahead  of  Lieutenant- General  Sir 
Philip  W.  Chetwode,  the  XXth  Corps  Commander, 
and  Brigadier- General  Bartholomew,  who  was  General 
Chetwode' s  B.G.G.S.  The  guard  closed  in  behind. 
That  was  all. 

The  procession  came  to  a  halt  at  the  steps  of  El 
Kala,  the  Citadel,  which  visitors  to  Jerusalem  will 
better  remember  as  the  entrance  to  David's  Tower. 
Here  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  his  Staff  formed 
up  on  the  steps  with  the  notables  of  the  City  behind 
them,  to  Usten  to  the  reading  of  the  Proclamation  in 
several  languages.  That  Proclamation,  telUng  the 
people  they  could  pursue  their  lawful  business  with- 
out interruption  and  promising  that  every  sacred 
building,  monument,  holy  spot,  shrine,  traditional 
site,  endowment,  pious  bequest,  or  customary  place 
of  prayer  of  whatsoever  form  of  three  of  the  great 
religions  of  mankind  would  be  maintained  and  pro- 
tected according  to  existing  customs  and  beliefs  to 
those  to  whose  faiths  they  are  sacred,  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  populace.  So  you  could  judge 
from  the  expressions  on  faces  and  the  frequent 
murmurs  of  approval,  and  it  was  interesting  to  note 


208  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

how,  when  the  procession  was  being  re-formed,  many 
Christians,  Jews,  and  Moslems  broke  away  from  the 
crowd  to  run  and  spread  the  good  news  in  their 
respective  quarters.  How  faithfully  and  with  what 
scrupulous  care  our  promises  have  been  kept  the 
rehgious  communities  of  Jerusalem  can  tell. 

The  procession  next  moved  into  the  old  Turkish 
barrack  square  less  than  a  hundred  yards  away,  where 
General  Allenby  received  the  notables  of  the  City 
and  the  heads  of  religious  communities.  The  Mayor 
of  Jerusalem,  who  unfortunately  died  of  pneumonia 
a  fortnight  later,  and  the  Mufti,  who,  like  the  Mayor, 
was  a  member  of  a  Mahomedan  family  which  traces 
its  descent  back  through  many  centuries,  were  pre- 
sented, as  were  also  the  sheikhs  in  charge  of  the 
Mosque  of  Omar,  '  the  Tomb  of  the  Rock,'  and  the 
Mosque  of  El  Aksa,  and  Moslems  belonging  to  the 
Khaldieh  and  Alamieh  families.  The  Patriarchs  of 
the  Latin,  Greek  Orthodox,  and  Armenian  Churches 
and  the  Coptic  bishop  had  been  removed  from  the 
Holy  City  by  the  Turks,  but  their  representatives 
were  introduced  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and  so 
too  were  the  heads  of  Jewish  commimities,  the  Syriac 
Church,  the  Greek  Catholic  Church,  the  Abyssinian 
bishop,  and  the  representative  of  the  AngUcan  Church. 
A  notable  presentation  was  the  Spanish  Consul,  who 
had  been  in  charge  of  the  interests  of  almost  all 
countries  at  war,  and  whom  General  Allenby  con- 
gratulated upon  being  so  busy  a  man.  The  presenta- 
tions over,  the  Commander-in-Chief  returned  to  the 
Jaffa  Gate  and  left  for  advanced  General  Head- 
quarters, having  been  in  the  Holy  City  not  more  than 
a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

For  succinctness  it  would  be  difficult  to  improve 
upon  the  Commander-in-Chief's  own  description  of 
his  Official  Entry  into  Jerusalem.     Cabhng  to  London 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  OFFICIAL  ENTRY   209 

witHin  two  hours  of  that  event,  General  Allenby  thus 
narrated  the  events  of  the  day  : 

(1)  At  noon  to-day  I  officially  entered  this  City  with  a 
few  of  my  Staff,  the  commanders  of  the  French  and  Itahan 
detachments,  the  heads  of  the  Picot  Mission,  and  the  Mili- 
tary Attaches  of  France,  Italy,  and  the  United  States  of 
America. 

The  procession  was  all  on  foot. 

I  was  received  by  Guards  representing  England,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  Wales,  AustraHa,  India,  New  Zealand,  France,  and 
Italy  at  the  Jaffa  Gate. 

(2)  I  was  well  received  by  the  population. 

(3)  The  Holy  Places  have  had  Guards  placed  over 
them. 

(4)  My  MiHtary  Governor  is  in  touch  with  the  Acting 
Gustos  of  Latins,  and  the  Greek  representative  has  been 
detailed  to  supervise  Christian  Holy  Places. 

(5)  The  Mosque  of  Omar  and  the  area  rotind  it  has  been 
placed  under  Moslem  control  and  a  mihtary  cordon  composed 
of  Indian  Mahomedan  officers  and  soldiers  has  been  estab- 
hshed  round  the  Mosque.  Orders  have  been  issued  that 
without  permission  of  the  Mihtary  Governor  and  the  Moslem 
in  charge  of  the  Mosque  no  non-Moslem  is  to  pass  this 
cordon. 

(6)  The  Proclamation  has  been  posted  on  the  walls,  and 
from  the  steps  of  the  Citadel  was  read  in  my  presence  to  the 
population  in  Arabic,  Hebrew,  English,  French,  Itahan, 
Greek,  and  Russian. 

(7)  Guardians  have  been  established  at  Bethlehem  and  on 
Rachel's  Tomb.  The  Tomb  of  Hebron  has  been  placed 
under  exclusive  Moslem  control. 

(8)  The  hereditary  custodians  of  the  Wakfs  at  the  Gates 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  have  been  requested  to  take  up  their 
accustomed  duties  in  remembrance  of  the  magnanimous  act 
of  the  Caliph  Omar  who  protected  that  Church. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  interest  I  give  in  the 
Appendix  the  orders  issued  on  the  occasion  of  the 

o 


210  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Official  Entry  into  Jerusalem,  the  order  of  Greneral 
Allenby's  procession  into  the  Holy  City  for  the  read- 
ing of  the  Proclamation,  together  with  the  text  of 
that  historic  document,  and  the  special  orders  of  the 
day  issued  by  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  his  troops 
after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem.^ 

*  See  Appendix  vii. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE 

General  Allenby  within  two  days  of  capturing 
Jerusalem  had  secured  a  line  of  high  ground  which 
formed  an  excellent  defensive  system,  but  his  XXth 
Corps  Staff  was  busy  with  plans  to  extend  the  defences 
to  give  the  Holy  City  safety  from  attack.  Nothing 
could  have  had  so  damaging  an  influence  on  our 
prestige  in  the  East,  which  was  growing  stronger 
every  day  as  the  direct  result  of  the  immense  success 
of  the  operations  in  Palestine,  as  the  recapture  of 
Jerusalem  by  the  Turks.  We  thought  the  wire- 
pulling of  the  German  High  Command  would  have 
its  effect  in  the  war  councils  of  Turkey,  and  seeing 
that  the  regaining  of  the  prize  would  have  such  far- 
reaching  effect  on  pubhc  opinion  no  one  was  surprised 
that  the  Germans  prevailed  upon  their  ally  to  make 
the  attempt.  It  was  a  hopeless  failure.  The  attack 
came  at  a  moment  when  we  were  ready  to  launch  a 
scheme  to  secure  a  second  and  a  third  hne  of  defences 
for  Jerusalem,  and  gallantly  as  the  Turks  fought — 
they  delivered  thirteen  powerful  attacks  against  our 
line  on  the  morning  of  December  27  —  the  venture 
had  a  disastrous  ending,  and  instead  of  reaching 
Jerusalem  the  enemy  had  to  yield  to  British  arms 
seven  miles  of  most  valuable  country  and  gave  us, 
in  place  of  one  line,  four  strong  lines  for  the  defence 
of  the  Holy  City.  By  supreme  judgment,  when  the 
Turks  had  committed  themselves  to  the  attack  on 
Tel  el  Ful,  without  which  they  could  not  move  a  yard 

211 


212  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

on  the  Nablus  road,  General  Chetwode  started  his 
operations  on  the  left  of  his  line  with  the  10th  and 
74th  Divisions,  using  his  plan  as  it  had  been  prepared 
for  some  days  to  seize  successive  hnes  of  hills,  and 
compelled  the  enemy,  in  order  to  meet  this  attack, 
to  divert  the  fresh  division  held  in  waiting  at  Bireh 
to  throw  forward  into  Jerusalem  the  moment  the 
storming  troops  should  pierce  our  hne.  With  the 
precision  of  clockwork  the  Irish  and  dismounted 
yeomanry  divisions  seciu-ed  their  objectives,  and 
on  the  second  day  of  the  fighting  we  regained  the 
initiative  and  compelled  the  Turks  to  conform  to  our 
dispositions.  On  the  fourth  day  we  were  on  the 
Ramallah-Bireh  line  and  secured  for  Jerusalem  an 
impregnable  defence.  Prisoners  told  us  that  they 
had  been  promised,  as  a  reward  for  their  hoped-for 
success,  a  day  in  Jerusalem  to  do  as  they  hked.  We 
can  imagine  what  the  situation  in  the  Holy  City 
would  have  been  had  our  line  been  less  true.  The 
Londoners  who  had  won  the  City  saved  it.  Probably 
only  a  few  of  the  inhabitants  had  any  knowledge 
of  the  danger  the  City  was  in  on  December  27.  Their 
confidence  in  the  British  troops  had  grown  and 
could  scarcely  be  stronger,  but  some  of  them  were 
alarmed,  and  throughout  the  early  morning  and  day 
they  knelt  on  housetops  earnestly  praying  that  our 
soldiers  would  have  strength  to  withstand  the  Turkish 
onslaughts.  From  that  day  onward  the  sound  of  the 
guns  was  less  violent,  and  as  our  artillery  advanced 
northwards  the  people's  misgivings  vanished  and  they 
reproached  themselves  for  their  fears. 

It  will  be  remembered  how  the  troops  of  the  XXth 
Corps  were  disposed.  The  53rd  Division  held  the 
Hne  south-east  and  east  of  Jerusalem  from  Bir  Asad 
through  Abu  Dis,  Bethany,  to  north  of  the  Mount 
of  Ohves,  whence  the  60th  Division  took  it  up  from 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         213 

Meshari,  east  of  Shaiat  to  Tel  el  Ful  and  to  Beit 
Hannina  across  the  Jerusalem-Nablus  road.  The 
74th  Division  carried  on  to  Nebi  Samwil,  Beit  Izza 
to  Beit  Dukku,  with  the  10th  Division  on  their  left 
through  Foka,  Tahta  to  Suffa,  the  gap  between  the 
XXth  Corps  to  the  right  of  the  XXIst  Corps  being 
held  by  the  3rd  Austrahan  Light  Horse  Brigade  of 
the  Austrahan  Mounted  Division.  Against  us  were 
the  27th  Turkish  Division  and  the  7th  and  27th 
cavalry  regiments  south  of  the  Jericho  road,  with 
the  26th,  53rd,  19th,  and  24th  Divisions  on  the  north 
of  that  road  and  to  the  west  of  the  Jerusalem-Nablus 
road,  one  division  being  in  reserve  at  Bireh,  the 
latter  a  new  division  fresh  from  the  Caucasus.  The 
6th  and  8th  Turkish  cavalry  regiments  were  facing 
our  extreme  left,  the  estimated  strength  of  the  enemy 
in  the  Une  being  14,700  rifles  and  2300  sabres.  Just 
as  it  was  getting  dark  on  December  11  a  party  of 
the  enemy  attacked  the  179th  Brigade  at  Tel  el  Ful 
but  were  repulsed.  There  was  not  much  activity 
the  following  day,  but  the  53rd  Division  began  a 
series  of  minor  operations  by  which  they  secured 
some  features  of  tactical  importance.  On  the  13th 
the  181st  Brigade  made  a  dashing  attack  on  Ras 
el  Kharrabeh  and  secured  it,  taking  43  prisoners 
and  two  machine  guns,  with  31  casualties  to 
themselves. 

It  was  about  this  time  the  Corps  Commander 
framed  plans  for  the  advance  of  our  front  north  of 
Jerusalem.  There  had  been  a  few  days  of  fine 
weather,  and  a  great  deal  had  been  done  to  improve 
the  condition  of  the  roads  and  communications. 
An  army  of  Egyptian  labourers  had  set  to  work  on 
the  Enab-Jerusalem  road  and  from  the  villages  had 
come  strong  reinforcements  of  natives,  women  as 
well  as  men  (and  the  women  did  quite  as  much  work 


214  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

as  the  men),  attracted  by  the  unusual  wage  payable 
in  cash.  In  Jerusalem,  too,  the  natives  were  sent 
to  labour  on  the  roads  and  to  clean  up  some  of  the 
filth  that  the  Turks  had  allowed  to  accumulate  for 
years,  if  not  for  generations,  inside  the  Holy  City. 
The  Army  not  merely  provided  work  for  idle  hands 
but  enabled  starving  bodies  to  be  vitaHsed.  Food 
was  brought  into  Jerusalem,  and  w^ith  the  cash  wages 
old  and  young  labourers  could  get  more  than  a 
sufficiency.  The  native  in  the  hills  proved  to  be  a 
good  road  repairer,  and  the  boys  and  women  showed 
an  eagerness  to  earn  their  daily  rates  of  pay  ;  the 
men  generally  looked  on  and  gave  directions.  It 
was  some  time  before  steam  roUers  crushed  in  the 
surface,  but  even  rammed-in  stones  were  better  than 
mud,  and  the  lorry  drivers'  tasks  became  lighter. 

Greneral  Chetwode's  plan  was  to  secure  a  line  from 
Obeid,  9000  yards  east  of  Bethlehem,  the  hill  of 
Zamby  covering  the  Jericho  road  three  miles  from 
Jerusalem,  Anata,  Hismeh,  Jeba,  Burkah,  Beitun, 
El  Balua,  Kh.  el  Burj,  Deir  Ibzia  to  Shilta.  The 
scheme  was  to  strike  with  the  53rd  and  60th  Divisions 
astride  the  Jerusalem-Nablus  road,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  push  the  10th  Division  and  a  part  of  the  74th 
Division  eastwards  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Tahta 
and  Foka.  The  weather  again  became  bad  on  Decem- 
ber 14  and  the  troops  suffered  great  discomfort  from 
heavy  rains  and  violent,  cold  winds,  so  that  only 
light  operations  were  undertaken.  On  the  17th  the 
West  Kent  and  Sussex  battalions  of  the  160th  Brigade 
stalked  the  high  ground  east  of  Abu  Dis  at  dawn, 
and  at  the  cost  of  only  26  casualties  took  the  ridge 
with  5  officers  and  121  other  ranks  prisoners,  and 
buried  46  enemy  dead.  One  battalion  went  up  the 
hill  on  one  side,  while  the  Sussex  crept  up  the 
opposite  side,  the  Turks  being  caught  between  two 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         215 

fires.  The  53rd  Division  also  improved  their  position 
on  the  21st  December.  As  one  leaves  Bethany  and 
proceeds  down  the  Jericho  road  one  passes  along  a 
steep  zigzag  with  several  hairpin  bends  until  one 
reaches  a  guardhouse  near  a  well  about  a  mile  east 
of  Bethany.  The  road  still  falls  smartly,  following 
a  straighter  hne  close  to  a  wadi  bed,  but  hills  rise 
very  steeply  from  the  highway,  and  for  its  whole 
length  until  it  reaches  the  Jordan  valley  the  road 
is  always  covered  by  high  bare  mountains.  Soon 
after  leaving  the  zigzag  there  is  a  series  of  three  hiUs 
to  the  north  of  the  road.  It  was  important  to  obtain 
possession  of  two  of  these  hills,  the  first  called  Zamby 
and  the  second  named  by  the  Welsh  troops  '  White- 
hill,'  from  the  bright  limestone  outcrop  at  the  crest. 
The  159th  Brigade  attacked  and  gained  Zamby  and 
then  turned  nearer  the  Jericho  road  to  capture  White- 
hill.  The  Turks  resisted  very  stoutly,  and  there  was 
heavy  fighting  about  the  trenches  just  below  the  top 
of  the  hill.  By  noon  the  brigade  had  driven  the 
enemy  off,  but  three  determined  counter-attacks 
were  dehvered  that  day  and  the  next  and  the  brigade 
lost  180  kiUed  and  wounded.  The  Turks  suffered 
heavily  in  the  counter-attacks  and  left  over  50  dead 
behind  them  ;  also  a  few  prisoners.  At  a  later  date 
there  was  further  strong  fighting  around  this  hill,  and 
at  one  period  it  became  impossible  for  either  side  to 
hold  it. 

By  the  21st  there  was  a  readjustment  of  the  line 
on  the  assumption  that  the  XXth  Corps  would 
attack  the  Turks  on  Christmas  Day,  the  53rd  Division 
taking  over  the  line  as  far  north  as  the  wadi  Anata,  the 
60th  Division  extending  its  left  to  include  Nebi 
Samwil,  and  the  74th  going  as  far  west  as  Tahta. 
As  a  prehminary  to  the  big  movement  the  180th 
Brigade  was  directed  to  move  on  Kh.  Adaseh,  a  hill 


216  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

between  Tel  el  Ful  and  Tawil,  in  the  early  hours  of 
December  23,  and  the  181st  Brigade  was  to  seize  a 
height  about  half  a  mile  north  of  Beit  Hannina. 
The  latter  attack  succeeded,  but  despite  the  most 
gallant  and  repeated  efforts  the  180th  Brigade  was 
unable  to  gain  the  summit  of  Adaseh,  though  they 
got  weU  up  the  hill.  The  weather  became  bad  once 
more,  and  meteorological  reports  indicated  no  im- 
provement in  the  conditions  for  at  least  twenty-four 
hours,  and  as  the  moving  forward  of  artillery  and 
supplies  was  impossible  in  the  rain.  General  Chetwode 
with  the  concurrence  of  G.H.Q.  decided  that  the 
attack  should  not  be  made  on  Christmas  Day.  The 
60th  Division  thereupon  did  not  further  prosecute 
their  attack  on  Adaseh.  On  the  24th  December, 
while  General  Chetwode  was  conferring  with  his 
divisional  commanders,  information  was  brought  in 
that  the  Turks  were  making  preparations  to  re- 
capture Jerusalem  by  an  attack  on  the  60th  Division, 
and  the  Corps  Commander  decided  that  the  moment 
the  enemy  was  found  to  be  fully  committed  to  this 
attack  the  10th  Division  and  one  brigade  of  the 
74th  Division  would  fall  on  the  enemy's  right  and  ad- 
vance over  the  Zeitun,  Kereina,  and  Ibzia  ridges. 
How  well  this  plan  worked  out  was  shown  before 
the  beginning  of  the  New  Year,  by  which  time  we 
had  secured  a  great  depth  of  ground  at  a  cost  in- 
finitely smaller  than  could  have  been  expected  if 
the  Turks  had  remained  on  the  defensive,  while 
the  Turkish  losses,  at  a  moment  when  they  required 
to  preserve  every  fighting  man,  were  much  greater 
than  we  could  have  hoped  to  inflict  if  they  had  not 
come  into  the  open.  There  was  never  a  fear  that  the 
enemy  would  break  through.  We  had  commanding 
positions  everywhere,  and  the  more  one  studied  our 
line  on  the  chain  of  far-flung  hills  the  more  clearly 


DC 
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MAKING  JERUSALE]\I  SECURE         217 

one  realised  the  prevision  and  military  skill  of 
General  Chetwode  and  the  staff  of  the  XXth  Corps 
in  preparing  the  plans  for  its  capture  before  the 
advance  on  Jerusalem  was  started.  The  '  fourth 
objective  '  of  December  8-9  well  and  truly  laid  the 
foundations  for  Jerusalem's  security,  and  reUeved 
the  inhabitants  from  the  accumulated  burdens  of 
more  than  three  years  of  war.  We  had  nibbled  at 
pieces  of  ground  to  flatten  out  the  line  here  and  there, 
but  in  the  main  the  line  the  Turks  assaulted  was  that 
fourth  objective.  The  Turks  put  all  their  hopes  on 
their  last  card.  It  was  trumped  ;  and  when  we  had 
won  the  trick  there  was  not  a  soldier  in  General 
Allenby's  Army  nor  a  civilian  in  the  Holy  City  who 
had  not  a  profound  beUef  in  the  coming  downfall 
of  the  Turkish  Empire. 

Troops  in  the  hne  and  in  bivouac  spent  the  most 
cheerless  Christmas  Day  within  their  memories. 
Not  only  in  the  storm- swept  hills  but  on  the  Plain 
the  day  was  bitterly  cold,  and  the  gale  carried  with 
it  heavy  rain  clouds  which  passed  over  the  tops  of 
mountams  and  rolled  up  the  valleys  in  ceaseless 
succession,  discharging  hail  and  rain  in  copious 
quantities.  The  wadis  became  roaring,  tearing  tor- 
rents fed  by  hundreds  of  tributaries,  and  men  who 
had  sought  shelter  on  the  lee  side  of  rocks  often 
found  water  pouring  over  them  in  cascades.  The 
whole  country  became  a  sea  of  mud,  and  the  trials 
of  many  months  of  desert  sand  were  grateful  and 
comforting  memories.  Transport  columns  had  an 
unhappy  time  ;  the  Hebron  road  was  showing  many 
signs  of  wear,  and  it  was  a  long  journey  for  lorries 
from  Beersheba  when  the  retaining  walls  were  giving 
way  and  a  foot-deep  layer  of  mud  invited  a  sldd 
every  yard.  The  Latron-Jerusalem  road  was  better 
going,  but  the  soft  metal  laid  down  seemed  to  melt 


218  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

under  the  unceasing  traffic  in  the  wet,  and  in  peace 
time  this  highway  would  have  been  voted  unfit  for 
traffic.  Tlie  worst  piece  of  road,  however,  was  also 
the  most  important.  Tlie  Nablus  road  where  it 
leaves  Jerusalem  was  wanted  to  supply  a  vital  point 
on  our  front.  It  could  not  be  used  during  the  day 
because  it  was  under  observation,  and  anything 
moving  along  it  was  liberally  dosed  with  sheUs. 
Nor  could  its  deplorable  condition  be  improved  by 
working  parties.  The  ground  was  so  soft  on  either 
side  of  it  that  no  gun,  ammunition,  or  supply  limber 
could  leave  the  track,  and  whatever  was  required 
for  man,  or  beast,  or  artillery  had  to  be  carried  across 
the  road  in  the  pitch-black  hours  of  night.  Supplies 
were  only  got  up  to  the  troops  after  infinite  labour, 
yet  no  one  went  hungry.  Boxing  Day  was  brighter, 
and  there  were  hopes  of  a  period  of  better  weather. 
During  the  morning  there  were  indications  that 
an  enemy  offensive  was  not  far  off,  and  these  were 
confirmed  about  noon  by  information  that  the  front 
north  of  Jerusalem  would  be  attacked  in  the  night. 
General  Chetwode  thereupon  ordered  General  Longley 
to  start  his  offensive  on  the  left  of  the  XXth  Corps 
line  at  dawn  next  morning.  Shortly  before  midnight 
the  Turks  began  their  operations  against  the  line 
held  by  the  60th  Division  across  the  Nablus  road 
precisely  where  it  had  been  expected.  They  attacked 
in  considerable  strength  at  Ras  et  Tawil  and  about 
the  quarries  held  by  our  outposts  north  of  that  hill, 
and  the  outposts  were  driven  in.  About  the  same 
time  the  24th  Welsh  Regiment — dismounted  yeo- 
manry— made  the  enemy  realise  that  we  were  on  the 
alert,  for  they  assaulted  and  captured  a  hill  quite  close 
to  Et  Tireh,  just  forestalling  an  attack  by  a  Turkish 
storming  battalion,  and  beat  off  several  determined 
counter-attacks,  as  a  result  of  which  the  enemy  left 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         219 

seventy    killed    with    the    bayonet    and    also    some 
machine  guns  on  the  hill  slopes. 

The  night  was  dark  and  misty,  and  by  half-past 
one  the  Turks  had  developed  a  big  attack  against 
the  whole  of  the  60th  Division's  front,  the  strongest 
effort  being  delivered  on  the  line  in  front  of  Tel  el  Ful, 
though  there  was  also  very  violent  fighting  on  the 
west  of  the  wadi  Ed  Dunn,  north  of  Beit  Hannina. 
The  Turks  fought  with  desperate  bravery.  They 
had  had  no  food  for  two  days,  and  the  commander 
of  one  regiment  told  his  men  :  '  There  are  no  English 
in  front  of  you.  I  have  been  watching  the  enemy 
lines  for  a  long  time  ;  they  are  held  by  Egyptians, 
and  I  tell  you  there  are  no  English  there.  You  have 
only  to  capture  two  hills  and  you  can  go  straight 
into  Jerusalem  and  get  food.  It  is  our  last  chance 
of  gettmg  Jerusalem,  and  if  we  fail  we  shall  have  to 
go  back.'  This  officer  gave  emphatic  orders  that 
British  wounded  were  not  to  be  mutilated.  Between 
half -past  one  and  eight  a.m.  the  Turks  attacked  in 
front  of  Tel  el  Ful  eight  times,  each  attack  being 
stronger  than  the  last.  Tel  el  Ful  is  a  conical  hill 
covered  with  huge  boulders,  and  on  the  top  is  a  mass 
of  rough  stones  and  ruined  masonry.  The  Turks 
had  registered  well  and  severely  shelled  our  position 
before  making  an  assault,  and  they  covered  the  ad- 
vance with  machine  guns.  In  one  attack  made  just 
after  daybreak  the  enemy  succeeded  in  getting  into 
a  short  length  of  line,  but  men  of  the  2/1 5th  Londons 
promptly  organised  a  counter-attack  and,  advan- 
cing with  fine  gallantry,  though  their  ranks  were 
thinned  by  a  tremendous  enfilade  fire  from  artillery 
and  machine  guns,  they  regained  the  sangars.  For 
several  hours  after  eight  o'clock  this  portion  of  the 
Une  was  quieter,  but  the  Turk  was  reorganising  for 
a  last  effort.     A  very   brilliant  defence   had  been 


220  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

made  during  the  night  of  Beit  Hannina  by  the  2/24th 
Londons,  which  battahon  was  commanded  by  a 
captain,  the  colonel  and  the  majors  being  on  the  sick 
list.  The  two  companies  in  the  line  were  attacked 
four  times  by  superior  numbers,  the  last  assault 
being  delivered  by  more  than  five  hundred  men,  but 
the  defenders  stood  like  rocks,  and  though  they  had 
fifty  per  cent,  of  their  number  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  Turks  got  close  to  the  trenches,  the  enemy 
were  crushingly  defeated. 

The  morning  lull  was  welcome.  Our  troops  got 
some  rest  though  their  vigilance  was  unrelaxed,  and 
few  imagined  that  the  Turks  had  yet  given  up  the 
attempt  to  reach  Jerusalem.  We  were  ready  to 
meet  a  fresh  effort,  but  the  strength  with  which  it 
was  dehvered  surprised  everybody.  The  Turk,  it 
seemed,  was  prepared  to  stake  everything  on  his 
last  throw.  He  knew  quite  early  on  that  morning 
that  his  Caucasus  Division  could  not  carry  out  the 
role  assigned  to  it.  General  Chetwode  had  countered 
him  by  smashing  in  with  his  left  with  a  beautiful 
weighty  stroke  precisely  at  the  moment  when  the 
Turk  had  compromised  himself  elsewhere,  and  instead 
of  being  able  to  put  in  his  reserves  to  support  his 
main  attack  the  enemy  had  to  divert  them  to  stave 
off  an  advance  which,  if  unhindered,  would  threaten 
the  vital  communications  of  the  attackers  north  of 
Jerusalem. 

It  w^as  a  remarkable  situation,  but  all  the  finesse 
in  the  art  of  war  was  on  one  side.  Every  message 
the  Turkish  Commander  received  from  his  right 
must  have  reported  progress  against  him.  Each 
signal  from  the  Jerusalem  front  must  have  been 
equally  bitter,  summing  up  want  of  progress  and 
heavy  losses.  With  us,  Time  was  a  secondary  factor ; 
with  the  Turk,  Time  was  the  whole  essence  of  the 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         221 

business,  so  he  pledged  his  all  on  one  tremendous 
final  effort.  It  was  almost  one  o'clock  when  it 
started,  and  it  was  made  against  the  whole  front  of 
our  XXth  Corps.  It  was  certainly  made  in  un- 
expected strength  and  with  a  courage  beyond  praise. 
The  Turk  threw  himself  forward  to  the  assault  with 
the  violence  of  despair,  and  his  impetuous  onrush 
enabled  him  to  get  into  some  small  elements  of  our 
front  line;  but  counter-attacks  immediately  organ- 
ised drove  him  out.  Over  the  greater  portion  of 
the  front  the  advance  was  stopped  dead,  but  in 
some  places  the  enemy  tried  a  whirlwind  rush  and 
used  bomb  against  bomb.     He  had  met  his  match. 

The  60th  Division  which  bore  the  brunt  of  the  on- 
slaught, as  it  was  bound  to  do  from  its  position  astride 
the  main  road,  was  absolutely  unbreakable,  and  at 
Tel  el  Ful  there  lay  a  dead  Turk  for  every  yard  of 
its  front.  The  enemy  drew  off,  but  to  save  the  rem- 
nants of  his  storming  troops  kept  our  positions  from 
near  Ras  et  Tawil,  Tel  el  Ful  to  the  wadi  Beit  Hannina 
under  heavy  gunfire  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  The 
Turk  was  hopelessly  beaten,  his  defeat  irretrievable. 
He  had  delivered  thirteen  costly  attacks,  and  his 
sole  gains  were  the  exposed  outpost  positions  at 
the  Tawil  and  the  quarries.  All  his  reserves  had 
been  vigorously  engaged,  while  at  two  o'clock  m  the 
afternoon  General  Chetwode  had  in  reserve  nineteen 
battahons  less  one  company  still  unused,  and  the 
care  exercised  in  keeping  this  large  body  of  troops 
fresh  for  following  up  the  Turkish  defeat  undoubtedly 
contributed  to  the  great  success  of  the  advances 
on  the  next  three  days.  Simultaneously  with  their 
attack  on  the  60th  Division  positions  the  Turks  put 
in  a  weighty  effort  to  oust  the  53rd  Division  from  the 
positions  they  held  north  and  south  of  the  Jericho 
road.     Whether  in  their  wildest  dreams  they  imagined 


222  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

they  could  enter  Jerusalem  by  this  route  is  doubtful, 
but  if  they  had  succeeded  in  driving  in  our  line  on 
the  north  they  would  have  put  the  53rd  Division  in 
a  perilous  position  on  the  east  with  only  one  avenue 
of  escape.  The  Turks  concentrated  their  efforts  on 
Whitehill  and  Zamby.  A  great  fight  raged  round 
the  former  height  and  we  were  driven  off  it,  but  the 
divisional  artillery  so  sprinkled  the  crest  with  shell 
that  the  Turk  could  not  occupy  it,  and  it  became 
No  Man's  Land  until  the  early  evening  when  the 
7th  Royal  Welsh  Fusiliers  recaptured  and  held  it. 
The  contest  for  Zamby  lasted  all  day,  and  for  a  long 
time  it  was  a  battle  of  bombs  and  machine  guns,  so 
closely  together  were  the  fighting  men,  but  the  Turks 
never  got  up  to  our  sangars  and  were  finally  driven 
off  with  heavy  loss,  over  100  dead  being  left  on  the 
hill.  The  Turkish  ambulances  were  seen  hard  at 
work  on  the  Jericho  road  throughout  the  day.  There 
was  a  stout  defence  of  a  detached  post  at  Ibn  Obeid. 
A  company  of  the  2/lOth  Middlesex  Regiment  had 
been  sent  on  to  Obeid,  about  five  miles  east  of  Beth- 
lehem, to  watch  for  the  enemy  moving  about  the 
rough  tracks  in  that  bare  and  broken  country  which 
falls  away  in  jagged  hills  and  sinuous  valleys  to  the 
Dead  Sea.  The  little  garrison,  whose  sole  shelter 
was  a  ruined  monastic  building  on  the  hill,  were 
attacked  at  dawn  by  700  Turkish  cavalry  supported 
by  mountain  guns.  The  garrison  stood  fast  all  day 
though  practically  surrounded,  and  every  attack 
was  beaten  off.  The  Turks  tried  again  and  again 
to  secure  the  hill,  which  commands  a  track  to  Beth- 
lehem, but,  although  they  fired  400  shells  at  the 
position,  they  could  not  enter  it,  and  a  battalion 
sent  up  to  reheve  the  Middlesex  men  next  morning 
found  that  the  company  had  driven  the  enemy  off, 
its  casualties  having  amounted  to  only  2  killed  and 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         223 

17  wounded.     Thus  did  the  '  Die  Hards  '  live  up  to 
the  traditions  of  the  regiment. 

Having  dealt  with  the  failure  of  the  Turkish 
attacks  against  the  60th  and  53rd  Divisions  in  front 
of  Jerusalem,  let  us  change  our  view  point  and  focus 
attention  on  the  left  sector  of  XXth  Corps,  where 
the  enemy  was  feeling  the  full  power  of  the  Corps 
at  a  time  when  he  most  wished  to  avoid  it.  General 
Longley  had  organised  his  attacking  columns  in 
three  groups.  On  the  right  the  229th  Brigade  of 
the  74th  Division  was  set  the  task  of  moving  from 
the  wadi  Imeish  to  secure  the  high  ground  of  Bir  esh 
Shafa  overlooking  Beitunia  ;  the  31st  Brigade,  start- 
ing from  near  Tahta,  attacked  north  of  the  wadi  Sunt, 
to  drive  the  enemy  from  a  hne  from  Jeriut  through 
Hafy  to  the  west  of  the  oUve  orchards  near  Ain  Arik  ; 
while  the  left  group,  composed  of  the  29th  and  30th 
Brigades,  aimed  at  getting  Shabuny  across  the  wadi 
Sad,  and  Sheikh  Abdallah  where  they  would  have 
the  AustraUan  Mounted  Division  on  their  left.  The 
advance  started  from  the  left  of  the  Hne.  The  29th 
Brigade  leading,  with  the  30th  Brigade  in  support, 
left  their  positions  of  deployment  at  six  o'clock,  by 
which  time  the  Turk  had  had  more  than  he  had 
bargained  for  north  and  east  of  Jerusalem.  The 
1st  Leinsters  and  5th  Connaught  Rangers  found  the 
enemy  in  a  stubborn  mood  west  of  Deir  Ibzia,  but 
they  broke  down  the  opposition  in  the  proper  Irish 
style  and  rapidly  reached  their  objectives.  The 
centre  group  started  one  hour  after  the  left  and  got 
their  line  without  much  difficulty.  The  right  group 
was  hotly  opposed.  Beginning  their  advance  at 
eight  o'clock  the  229th  Brigade  had  reached  the 
western  edge  of  the  famous  Zeitun  ridge  in  an  hour, 
but  from  this  time  onwards  they  were  exposed  to 
incessant  artillery  and  machine-gun  fire,  and  the 


224  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

forward  movement  became  very  slow.  In  five  hours 
small  parties  had  worked  along  the  ridge  for  about 
half  its  length,  fighting  every  yard,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  approach  of  dusk  that  we  once  more  got 
control  of  the  whole  ridge.  It  was  appropriate  that 
dismomited  yeomen  should  gain  this  important 
tactical  point  which  several  weeks  previously  had 
been  won  and  lost  by  their  comrades  of  the  Yeomaiu-y 
Mounted  Division.  Descendmg  from  the  ridge  the 
brigade  gave  the  Turk  httle  chance  to  stand,  and 
with  a  bayonet  charge  they  reached  the  day's  ob- 
jective in  the  dark.  At  two  o'clock,  when  the  Turks' 
final  effort  against  Jerusalem  had  just  failed,  the 
60th  and  74th  Divisions  both  sent  in  the  good  news 
that  the  Turkish  commander  was  moving  his  reserve 
division  from  Bireh  westwards  to  meet  the  attack 
from  our  left.  Airmen  confirmed  this  immediately, 
and  it  was  now  obvious  that  General  Chetwode's 
tactics  had  compelled  the  enemy  to  conform  to  his 
movements  and  that  we  had  regained  the  initiative. 
At  about  ten  o'clock  the  24th  Ro3^al  Welsh  Eusihers 
of  the  231st  Brigade  captured  Kh.  ed  Dreihemeh  on 
the  old  Roman  road  a  mile  east  of  Tireh,  and  at 
eleven  o'clock  advanced  to  the  assault  of  hill  2450, 
a  httle  farther  eastward.  They  gained  the  crest, 
but  the  enemy  had  a  big  force  in  the  neighbourhood 
and  counter-attacked,  forcing  the  Welshmen  to  with- 
draw some  distance  down  the  western  slope.  They 
held  this  ground  till  4.30  when  our  guns  heavily 
bombarded  the  summit,  mider  cover  of  which  fire 
the  infantry  made  another  attack.  This  was  also 
unsuccessful  owing  to  the  intense  volume  of  fire  from 
machine  guns.  The  hill  was  won,  however,  next 
mornmg. 

The  night  of  December  27-28  w^as  without  incident. 
The  Turk  had  staked  and  lost,  and  he  spent  the  night 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         225 

in  making  new  dispositions  to  meet  what  he  must 
have  reahsed  was  being  prepared  for  him  on  the 
following  day. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  there  was  a  more  successful 
day  for  our  Army  in  the  Palestine  campaign  than 
December  27.  The  portion  of  our  line  which  was 
on  the  defensive  had  stood  an  absolutely  unmovable 
wall,  against  which  the  enemy  had  battered  himself 
to  pieces.  Our  left,  or  attacking  sector,  had  gained 
all  their  objectives  against  strong  opposition  in  a 
most  difficult  country,  and  had  drawn  against  them 
the  very  troops  held  in  reserve  for  the  main  attack 
on  Jerusalem.  The  physical  powers  of  some  of  our 
attacking  troops  were  tried  highly.  One  position 
captured  by  the  229th  Brigade  was  a  particularly 
bad  hiU.  The  slope  up  which  the  infantry  had  to 
advance  was  a  series  of  almost  perpendicular  terraces, 
and  the  riflemen  could  only  make  the  ascent  by 
climbing  up  each  others'  backs.  When  dismounted 
yeomen  secured  another  hill  some  men  carrying  up 
suppUes  took  two  hours  to  walk  from  the  base  of  the 
hill  to  the  summit.  The  trials  of  the  infantry  were 
shared  by  the  artillery.  What  surprises  every  one 
who  has  been  over  the  route  taken  by  the  10th  and 
74th  Divisions  is  that  any  guns  except  those  with 
the  mountain  batteries  were  able  to  get  into  action. 
The  road  work  of  engineers  and  the  5th  Royal  Irish 
Regiment  (Pioneers)  was  magnificent,  and  they  made 
a  way  where  none  seemed  possible ;  but  though 
these  roadmakers  put  their  backs  into  their  tasks, 
it  was  only  by  the  untiring  energies  of  the  gimners 
and  drivers  that  artillery  was  got  up  to  support  the 
infantry.  The  guns  were  brought  into  action  well 
ahead  of  the  roads,  and  were  man-hauled  for  consider- 
able distances.  Two  howitzers  and  one  field  gun 
were  kept  up  with  the  infantry  on  the  first  day  of 

p 


226  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

the  advance  where  no  horses  could  get  a  foothold, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  gunners  hauled  the 
guns  through  deep  ravines  and  up  seemingly  unclimb- 
able  hills  constituted  a  wonderful  physical  achieve- 
ment.    The  artillery  were  called  upon  to  continue 
their  arduous  work  on  the  28th  and  29th  under  con- 
ditions of  ground  which  were  even  more  appalling 
than  those  met  with  on  the  27th.     The  whole  country 
was  devoid  of  any  road  better  than  a  goat  track,  and 
the  ravines  became  deeper  and  the  hills  more  pre- 
cipitous.    In  some  places,  particularly  on  the  10th 
Division    front,    the    infantry    went    forward    at    a 
remarkable  pace  ;  but  guns  moved  up  with  them, 
and  by  keeping  down  the  fire  of  machine  guns  dotted 
about  on  every  hill,  performed  services  which  ei^rned 
the    riflemen's    warm    praise.     The    9th    and    10th 
Mountain  Batteries  were  attached  to  the  10th  Divi- 
sion, but  field  and  howitzer  batteries  were  also  well 
up.     On  the  28th  the  53rd  Division  bit  farther  into 
the  enemy's  line  in  order  to  cover  the  right  of  the 
60th  Division,  which  was  to  continue  its  advance 
up    the    Nablus    road    towards    Bireh.     The    158th 
Brigade  captured  Anata,  and  after  fighting  all  day 
the  l/7th  Royal  Welsh  Fusihers  secured  Ras  Urkub 
es  SufEa,  a  forbidding-looking  height  towering  above 
the  storm-rent  sides  of  the  wadi  Ruabeh.     The  1/lst 
Herefords  after  dark  took  Kh.  Almit. 

In  front  of  the  60th  Division  the  Turks  were  still 
holding  some  strong  positions  from  which  they  should 
have  been  able  seriously  to  delay  the  Londoners' 
advance  had  it  not  been  for  the  threat  to  their  com- 
munications by  the  pressure  by  the  10th  and  74th 
Divisions.  The  Londoners  had  previously  tested  the 
strength  of  Adaseh,  and  had  found  it  an  extremely 
troublesome  hill.  They  went  for  it  again — the  179th 
Brigade  this  time — and  after  a  several  hours'  struggle 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         227 

took  it  at  dusk.  Meanwhile  the  181st  Brigade  had 
taken  the  lofty  villages  of  Bir  Nebala  and  El  Jib,  and 
after  Adaseh  became  ours  the  Division  went  ahead 
in  the  dark  and  got  to  the  line  across  the  Nablus  road 
from  Er  Ram  to  Rafat,  capturing  some  prisoners. 
The  74th  Division  also  made  splendid  progress.  In 
the  early  hours  the  Division,  with  the  24th  Royal 
Welsh  Fusiliers  and  the  24th  Welsh  Regiment  at- 
tached, secured  Juf  eir  and  resumed  their  main  advance 
in  the  afternoon,  the  230th  and  231st  Brigades  co- 
operating with  the  229th  Brigade  which  was  under 
the  orders  of  the  10th  Division.  Before  dark  they 
had  advanced  their  line  from  the  left  of  the  60th 
Division  in  Rafat  past  the  east  of  Beitunia  to  the  hill 
east  of  Abu  el  Ainein,  and  this  strong  line  of  hills 
once  secured,  everybody  was  satisfied  that  the  Turks' 
possession  of  Ramallah  and  Bireh  was  only  a  question 
of  hours.  Part  of  this  line  had  been  won  by  the 
10th  Division,  which  began  its  advance  before  noon 
in  the  same  battle  formation  as  on  the  27th.  Soon 
after  the  three  groups  started  the  heavy  artillery 
put  down  a  fierce  fire  on  the  final  objectives,  and 
before  three  o'clock  the  Turks  were  seen  to  be  evacu- 
ating Kefr  Skyan,  Ainein,  and  Rubin.  The  enemy 
put  up  a  stout  fight  at  Beitunia  and  on  a  hill  several 
hundred  yards  north-west  of  the  village,  but  the 
229th  Brigade  had  good  artillery  and  machine-gun 
assistance,  and  got  both  places  before  four  o'clock, 
capturing  seventy  prisoners,  including  the  commander 
of  the  garrison,  and  a  number  of  machine  guns.  The 
left  group  was  hotly  opposed  from  a  hill  a  mile  west 
of  Rubin  and  from  a  high  position  south-west  of 
Ainein.  The  nature  of  the  ground  was  entirely 
favourable  to  defence  and  for  a  time  the  Turk  took 
full  advantage  of  it,  but  our  artillery  soon  made  him 
lose  his  stomach  for  fighting,  and  doubtless  the  sound 


228  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  many  shell -bursts  beyond  Ramallah  made  him 
think  that  his  rock  sangars  and  the  deep  ravines  in 
front  of  him  were  not  protection  against  a  foe  who 
fought  Nature  with  as  much  determination  as  he 
fought  the  Turkish  soldier.  Six-inch  howitzers  of 
the  378th  Siege  Battery  had  been  brought  up  to 
Foka  in  the  early  hours,  and  all  the  afternoon  and 
evening  they  were  plastering  the  road  from  Ramallah 
along  which  the  enemy  were  retreating.  The  left 
group  defied  the  nests  of  machine  guns  hidden  among 
the  rocks  and  broke  down  the  defence.  The  centre 
group  had  been  delayed  by  the  opposition  encoun- 
tered by  the  left,  but  they  took  Skyan  at  six  o'clock 
and  all  of  the  objectives  for  one  day  were  in  our 
hands  by  the  early  evening.  An  advance  along  the 
whole  front  was  ordered  to  begin  at  six  o'clock  on 
December  29.  On  his  right  flank  the  enemy  was 
willing  to  concede  ground,  and  the  159th  Brigade 
occupied  Hismeh,  Jeba,  and  the  ridges  to  the  north- 
west to  protect  the  flank  of  the  60th  Division.  The 
53rd  Division  buried  271  enemy  dead  on  their  front 
as  the  result  of  three  days'  fighting.  The  181st 
Brigade  made  a  rapid  advance  up  the  Nablus  road 
until  they  were  close  to  Bireh  and  Tahunah,  a  high 
rocky  hiU  just  to  the  north-west  of  the  village.  The 
Turks  had  many  machine  guns  and  a  strong  force 
of  riflemen  in  these  places,  and  it  was  impossible 
for  infantry  to  advance  against  them  over  exposed 
ground  without  artillery  support.  The  303rd  Field 
Artillery  Brigade  was  supporting  the  brigade,  and 
they  were  to  move  up  a  track  from  KuUundia  while 
the  foot-sloggers  used  the  high  road,  but  the  track 
was  found  impassable  for  wheels  and  the  guns  had 
to  be  brought  to  the  road.  The  attack  was  post- 
poned till  the  guns  were  in  position.  The  gunners 
came   into   action   at   half-past   two,    and   infantry 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         229 

moved  to  the  left  to  get  on  to  the  Ramallah-Bireh 
metalled  road  which  runs  at  right  angles  to  the  trmik 
road  between  Nablus  and  Jerusalem.  The  2/22nd 
and  the  2/23rd  Londons,  working  across  the  road, 
reached  the  Tahunah  ridge,  and  after  a  heavy  bom- 
bardment dashed  into  the  Turkish  positions,  which 
were  defended  most  stubbornly  to  the  end,  and  thus 
won  the  last  remaining  hill  which  commanded  our 
advance  up  the  Nablus  road  as  far  as  Bireh.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  main  highway  the  180th  Brigade 
had  once  more  done  sterling  service.  There  is  a  bold 
eminence  called  Shab  Saleh,  a  mile  due  south  of  Bireh. 
It  rises  almost  sheer  from  a  piece  of  comparatively 
flat  ground,  and  the  enemy  held  it  in  strength.  The 
2/1 9th  and  the  2/20th  Londons  attacked  this  feature, 
and  displaying  great  gallantry  in  face  of  much 
machine-gun  fire  seized  it  at  half-past  three.  Once 
again  the  gunners  supported  the  infantry  admirably. 
The  2/1 7th  and  2/1 8th  Londons  pushed  past  Saleh 
in  a  north-easterly  direction  and,  leaving  Bireh  on 
their  left,  got  into  extremely  bad  country  and  took 
the  Turks  by  surprise  on  a  wooded  ridge  at  Sheikh 
Sheiban.  The  two  brigades  rested  and  refreshed 
for  a  couple  of  hours  and  then  advanced  once  more, 
and  by  midnight  they  had  routed  the  Turks  out  of 
another  series  of  hills  and  were  in  firm  possession 
of  the  line  from  Beitin,  across  the  Nablus  road  north 
of  the  Balua  Lake,  to  the  ridge  of  El  Burj,  having 
carried  through  everything  which  had  been  planned 
for  the  Division. 

RamaUah  had  been  taken  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  without  opposition  by  the  230th  and  229th 
Brigades,  and  at  night  the  74th  Division  held  a  strong 
fine  north  of  the  picturesque  village  as  far  as  Et  Tireh. 
The  10th  Division  also  occupied  the  Tireh  ridge  quite 
early  in  the  day,  and  one  of  their  field  batteries  and 


230  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

both   mountain  batteries  got  within  long  range  of 
the  Nablus  road,  and  not  only  assisted  in  shelling  the 
enem}^  in   Bireh   but  harassed  with   a  hot  fire  any 
bodies  of  men  or  transport  seen  retreating  northwards. 
The  Flying  Corps,  too,  caused  the  Turks  many  losses 
on  the  road.     The  airmen  bombed  the  enemy  from 
a  low  altitude  and  also  machine-gunned  them,  and 
moreover   by   their   timely   information   gave   great 
assistance    during    the    operations.     By    the    30th 
December  all  organised  resistance  to  our  advance 
had  ceased   and  the   XXth   Corps  consolidated  its 
line,    the   60th   Division   going   forward   slightly   to 
improve    its   position    and    the    other   divisions   re- 
arranging their  own.     The  consolidation  of  the  line 
was  not  an  easy  matter.     It  had  to  be  very  thor- 
oughly   and    rapidly    done.     The    supply    difficulty 
compelled  the  holding  of  the  line  with  as  few  troops 
as  possible,  and  when  it  had  oeen  won  it  was  necessary 
to  put  it  in  a  proper  order  in  a  minimum  of  time,  and 
to  bring  back  a  considerable  number  of  the  troops 
w^ho  had  been  engaged  in  the  fighting  to  hold  the 
grand  defensive  chain  which  made  Jerusalem  abso- 
lutely safe.     The  standard   gauge  railway  was  still 
a  long  way  from  Ramleh,  and  the  railway  construc- 
tion parties  had  to  fight  against  bad  weather  and 
washouts.     The  Turkish  line  from  Ramleh  to  Jeru- 
salem was  in  bad  order ;   a  number  of  bridges  w^ere 
down,  so  that  it  w^as  not  likety  the  railway  could 
be  working  for  several  weeks.     Lorries  could  supply 
the  troops  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Nablus  road, 
though  the  highway  was  getting  into  bad  condition, 
bat  in  the  right  centre  of  the  line  the  difficulties  of 
terrain  were  appalling.     The  enemy  had  had  a  pain- 
ful experience  of  it  and  was  not  likely  to  wish  to 
fight  in  that  country  again  ;    consequently  it  was 
decided  to  hold  this  part  of  the  line  with  light  forces. 


MAKING  JERUSALEM  SECURE         231 

In  this  description  of  the  operations  I  have  made 
little  mention  of  the  work  of  the  Australian  Mounted 
Division  which  covered  the  gap  between  XXth  and 
XXIst  Corps.     These  Australian  horsemen  and  yeo- 
manry  guarded   an   extended  front   in   inaccessible 
comitry,  and  every  man  in  the  Division  will  long 
remember  the  troubles  of  supply  in  the  hills.     They 
had  some  stiff  fighting  against  a  wily  enemy,  and  not 
for  a  minute  could  they  relax  their  vigilance.     When, 
with  the  Turks'  fatal  effort  to  retake  Jerusalem,  the 
10th  Division  changed  their  front  and  attacked  in  a 
north-easterly    direction,    the    Australian    Mounted 
Division  moved  with  it,  and  they  found  the  country 
as  they  progressed  become  more  rugged  and  bleak 
and   extremely  difficult  for   mounted   troops.     The 
Division  was  in  the  fighting  line  for  the  whole  month 
of  December,  and  when  they  handed  over  the  new 
positions  they  had  reached  to  the  infantry  on  the 
last  day  of  the  year,  their  horses  fully  needed  the 
lengthened  period  of  rest  allotted  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR 

From  the  story  of  how  Jerusalem  was  made  secure 
(for  we  may  hope  the  clamour  of  war  has  echoed  for 
the  last  time  about  her  Holy  Shrines  and  venerable 
walls)  we  may  turn  back  to  the  coastal  sector  and  see 
how  the  XXIst  Corps  improved  a  rather  dangerous 
situation  and  laid  the  foundations  for  the  biggest 
break-through  of  the  world  struggle.  For  it  was  the 
preparations  in  this  area  which  made  possible  General 
Allenby's  tremendous  gallop  through  Northern  Pales- 
tine and  Syria,  and  gave  the  Allies  Haifa,  Beyrout, 
and  TripoU  on  the  seaboard,  and  Nazareth,  Damascus, 
and  Aleppo  in  the  interior.  The  foundations  were 
soundly  laid  when  the  XXIst  Corps  crossed  the  Auja 
before  Christmas  1917,  and  the  superstructure  of  the 
victory  which  put  Turkey  as  well  as  Bulgaria  and 
Austria  out  of  the  war  was  built  up  with  many 
difficulties  from  the  sure  base  provided  by  the  XXIst 
Corps  line.  The  crossing  of  the  Auja  was  a  great 
feat  of  war,  and  this  is  the  first  time  I  am  able  to 
mention  the  names  of  those  to  whom  the  credit  of 
the  operation  is  due.  It  was  one  of  the  strange 
regulations  of  the  Army  Council  in  connection  with 
the  censorship  that  no  names  of  the  commanders  of 
army  corps,  divisions,  brigades,  or  battahons  should 
be  mentioned  by  correspondents.  Nor  indeed  was  I 
permitted  to  identify  in  my  despatches  any  particular 
division,  yet  the  divisions  concerned — the  52nd,  53rd, 
54th,  60th,  and  so  on — had  often  been  mentioned 

232 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OP  WAR  233 

in  official  despatches  ;  the  enemy  not  only  knew 
they  were  in  Palestine  but  were  fully  aware  of  their 
positions  in  the  line;  their  commanders  and  briga- 
diers were  known  by  name  to  the  Turks.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  describing  a  certain  battle  I  was  allowed 
to  speak  of  divisions  of  Lowland  troops,  Welshmen 
and  Londoners,  allusions  which  would  convey  (if 
there  were  anything  to  give  away)  precisely  as  much 
information  to  the  dull  old  Turk  and  his  sharper  Hun 
companion  in  arms  as  though  the  52nd,  53rd,  and 
60th  Divisions  had  been  explicitly  designated.  This 
practice  seemed  in  effect  to  be  designed  more  with  the 
object  of  keeping  our  people  at  home  in  the  dark,  of 
forbidding  them  glory  in  the  deeds  of  their  children 
and  brothers,  than  of  preventing  information  reach- 
ing the  enemy.  Some  gentleman  enthroned  in  the 
authority  of  an  official  armchair  said  '  No,'  and  there 
was  an  end  of  it.  You  could  not  get  beyond  him. 
His  decision  was  final,  complete — and  silly — and  the 
correspondent  was  bound  hand  and  foot  by  it. 
Doubtless  he  would  have  Uked  one  to  plead  on  the 
knee  for  some  httle  relaxation  of  his  decision.  Then 
he  would  have  answered  '  No  '  in  a  louder  tone. 
Let  me  give  one  example  from  a  number  entered  in 
my  notebooks  of  how  officers  at  home  exercised  their 
authority.  In  January  1917  the  military  railway 
from  the  Suez  Canal  had  been  constructed  across  the 
Sinai  Desert  and  the  first  train  was  run  into  El  Arish, 
about  ninety  miles  from  the  Canal.  I  was  asked  by 
General  Headquarters  to  send  a  cablegram  to  London 
announcing  the  fact  that  railhead  was  at  El  Arish, 
the  town  having  been  captured  a  fortnight  previously 
after  a  fine  night  march.  That  message  was  never 
pubhshed,  and  I  knew  it  was  a  waste  of  time  to  ask 
the  reason.  I  happened  to  be  in  London  for  a  few 
days  in  the  following  August  and  my  duties  took  me 


234  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

to  the   War  Office.     A  Colonel  in  the  Intelligence 
Branch  heard  I  was  there  and  sent  for  me  to  tell  me 
I  had  sent  home  information  of  value  to  the  enemy. 
J  reminded  him  there  was  a  G.H.Q.  censorship  in 
Egypt  which  dealt  with  my  cablegrams,  and  asked 
the  nature  of  the  valuable  information  which  should 
have  been  concealed.     '  You  sent  a  telegram  that 
the  railway  had  reached  El  Arish  when  the  Turks 
did  not  know  it  was  beyond  Bir  el  Abd.'     Abd  is 
fifty  miles   nearer   the   Suez   Canal   than   El  Arish. 
What  did  this  officer  care  about  a  request  made  by 
G.H.Q.  to  transmit  information  to  the  British  public  ? 
He  knew  better  than  G.H.Q.  what  the  British  public 
should  know,  and  he  was  certain  the  enemy  thought 
we  were  hauHng  supplies  through  those  fifty  miles 
of  sand  to  our  troops  at  El  Arish,  an  absolutely  phy- 
sical impossibility,  for  there  were  not  enough  camels 
in  the  East  to  do  it.     But  he  did  not  know,  and  he 
should  have  known,  being  an  InteUigence  officer,  that 
the  Turks  were  so  far  aware  of  where  our  railhead  was 
that  they  were  frequently  bombing  it  from  the  air. 
I  had  been  in  these  bombing  raids  and  knew  how 
accurately  the  German  airmen  dropped   their  eggs, 
and  had  this  Intelligence  officer  taken  the  trouble 
to  inquire  he  would  have  foimd  that  between  thirty 
and  forty  casualties  were  infficted  by  one  bomb  at 
El  Arish  itself  when  railhead  was  being  constructed. 
This  critic  imagined  that  the  Turk  knew  only  what  the 
English  papers  told  him.     If  the  Turks'  knowledge 
had  been  confined  to  what  the  War  Office  Intelligence 
Branch  gave  him  credit  for  he  would  have  been  in  a 
parlous  state.     While  this  ruling  of  the  authorities 
at  home  prevailed  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  give 
the  names  of  officers  or  to  mention  divisions  or  units 
which  were  doing  exceptionally   meritorious  work. 
Unfortunately  the  bureaucratic  interdict  continued 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR  235 

till  within  a  few  days  of  the  end  of  the  campaign, 
when  I  was  told  that,  'having  frequently  referred 
to  the  work  of  the  Australians,  which  was  deserved,' 
the  mention  of  British  and  Indian  units  would  be 
welcomed.  We  had  to  wait  until  within  a  month  of 
the  end  of  the  world  war  before  the  War  Office  would 
unbend  and  realise  the  value  of  the  best  kind  of 
propaganda.  No  wonder  our  American  friends  con- 
sider us  the  worst  national  advertisers  in  the  world. 

The  officer  who  was  mainly  responsible  for  the 
success  of  the  Auja  crossing  was  Major-General  J. 
Hill,  D.S.O.,  A.D.C.,  commanding  the  52nd  Division. 
His  plan  was  agreed  to  by  General  Bulfin,  although 
the  Corps  Commander  had  doubts  about  the  possi- 
bihty  of  its  success,  and  had  his  own  scheme  ready 
to  be  put  into  instant  operation  if  General  Hill's 
failed.     In  the  state  of  the  weather  General  Hill's 
own  brigadiers  were  not  sanguine,  and  they  were  the 
most  loyal  and  devoted  officers  a  divisional  com- 
mander ever  had.     But  despite  the  most  unfavourable 
conditions,  calling  for  heroic  measures  on  the  part 
of  officers  and  men  alike  to  gain  their  objectives 
through  mud  and  water  and  over  ground  that  was 
as  bad  as  it  could  be,  the  movements  of  the  troops 
worked    to    the    clock.     One    brigade's    movements 
synchronised  with  those  of  another,  and  the  river 
was  crossed,  commanding  positions  were  seized,  and 
bridges  were  built  with  an  astoundingly  small  loss 
to  ourselves.     The  Lowland  Scots  worked  as  if  at 
sport,  and  they  could  not  have  worked  longer  or 
stronger  if  the  whole  honour  of  Scotland  had  depended 
upon  their  efforts.     At  a  later  date,  when  digging 
at    Arsuf,    these    Scots    came    across   some   marble 
columns  which  had   graced   a   hall  when  ApoUonia 
was  in  its  heyday.     The  glory  of  ApoUonia  has  long 
vanished,  but  if  in  that  age  of  warriors  there  had 


236  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

been  a  belief  that  those  marble  columns  would  some 
day  be  raised  as  monuments  to  commemorate  a  great 
operation  of  war  the  ancients  would  have  had  a 
special  veneration  for  them.  Three  of  the  columns 
marked  the  spots  where  the  Scots  spanned  the  river, 
and  it  is  a  pity  they  cannot  tell  the  full  story  to  suc- 
ceeding generations. 

The  river  Auja  is  a  perennial  stream  emptying 
itself  into  the  blue  Mediterranean  w^aters  four  miles 
north  of  Jaffa.     Its  average  width  is  forty  yards  and 
its  depth  ten  feet,  with  a  current  running  at  aDout 
three  miles  an  hour.     Till  we  crossed  it  the  river 
was  the  boundary  between  the  British  and  Turkish 
armies  in  this  sector,  and  all  the  advantage  of  ob- 
servation was  on  the  northern  bank.     From  it  the 
town  of  Jaffa  and  its  port  were  in  danger,  and  the 
main  road  between  Jaffa  and  Ramleh  was  observed 
and    under   fire.     The   village    of    Sheikh    Muannis, 
about  two  miles  inland,  stood  on  a  high  mound  com- 
manding the  ground  south  of  the  river,  and  from 
Hadrah  you  could  keep  the  river  in  sight  in  its  whole 
winding  course  to  the   sea.     All  this  high  ground 
concealed  an  entrenched  enemy  ;  on   the   southern 
side  of  the  river  the  Turks  were  on  Bald  Hill,  and 
held  a  Une  of  trenches  covering  the  Jewish  colony 
of  Mulebbis  and  Fejja.     A  bridge  and  a  mill  dam 
having  been  destroyed  during  winter  the  only  means 
of  crossing  w  as  by  a  ford  three  feet  deep  at  the  mouth, 
an  uncertain  passage  because  the  sand  bar  over  which 
one  could  walk  shifted  after  heavy  rain  when  the 
stream  was  swollen  with  flood  water.     Reconnais- 
sances at  the  river  mouth  were  carried  out  with 
great  daring.     As  I  said,  all  the  southern  approaches 
to  the  river  were  commanded  by  the  Turks  on  the 
northern  bank,  who  were  always  alert,  and  the  move- 
ment of  one  man  in  the  Auja  valley  was  generally 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR  237 

the  signal  for  artillery  activity.  So  often  did  the 
Turkish  gunners  salute  the  appearance  of  a  single 
British  soldier  that  the  Scots  talked  of  the  enemy 
'  sniping  '  with  guns.  To  reconnoitre  the  enemy's 
positions  by  dayhght  was  hazardous  work,  and  the 
Scots  had  to  obtain  their  first-hand  knowledge  of  the 
river  and  the  approaches  to  it  in  the  dark  hours. 

An  officers'  patrol  swam  the  river  one  night,  saw 
what  the  enemy  was  doing,  and  returned  unobserved. 
A  few  nights  afterwards  two  officers  swam  out  to 
sea  across  the  river  mouth  and  crept  up  the  right 
bank  of  the  stream  within  the  enemy's  lines  to  as- 
certain the  locality  of  the  ford  and  its  exact  width 
and  depth.  They  also  learnt  that  there  were  no 
obstacles  placed  across  the  ford,  which  was  three 
feet  deep  in  normal  times  and  five  feet  under  water 
after  rains.  It  was  obvious  that  bridges  would  be 
required,  and  it  was  decided  to  force  the  passage  of 
the  river  in  the  dark  hours  by  putting  covering  troops 
across  to  the  northern  bank,  and  by  capturing  the 
enemy's  positions  to  form  a  bridgehead  while  pontoon 
bridges  were  being  constructed  for  the  use  of  guns 
and  the  remainder  of  the  Division. 

Time  was  all-important.  December  and  January 
are  the  wettest  months  of  the  season  at  Jaffa,  and 
after  heavy  rains  the  Auja  valley  becomes  little 
better  than  a  marsh,  so  that  a  small  amount  of  traffic 
will  cut  up  the  boggy  land  into  an  almost  impassable 
condition. 

The  XXIst  Corps'  plan  was  as  follows  :  At  dawn 
on  December  21  a  heavy  bombardment  was  to  open 
on  all  the  enemy's  trenches  covering  the  crossings, 
the  fire  of  heavy  guns  to  be  concentrated  on  enemy 
batteries  and  strong  positions  in  the  rear,  while  ships 
of  the  Royal  Navy  bombarded  two  strong  artillery 
positions  at  Tel  el  Rekket  and  El  Jelil,  near  the  coast. 


238  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

When  darkness  fell  covering  troops  were  to  be  ferried 
across  the  river,  and  then  light  bridges  would  be 
constructed  for  the  passage  of  larger  units  charged 
with  the  task  of  getting  the  Turks  out  of  their  line 
from  Hadrah,  through  El  Mukras  to  Tel  el  Rekket. 
After  these  positions  had  been  gained  the  engineers 
were  to  build  pontoon  bridges  to  carry  the  remainder 
of  the  Division  and  guns  on  the  night  of  the  22nd- 
23rd  December,  in  time  to  advance  at  daylight  on  the 
23rd  to  secure  a  defensive  line  from  Tel  el  Mukhmar 
through   Sheikh  el  Ballatar  to  Jelil.     On  the  right 
of  the  52nd  Division  the  54th  Division  was  to  attack 
Bald  Hill  on  the  night  of  21st-22nd  December,  and 
on  the  folio wmg  morning  assault  the  trench  system 
covering  Mulebbis  and  Fejja  ;  then  later  in  the  day 
to    advance    to    Rantieh,    while    the    75th    Division 
farther  east  was  to  attack  Bireh  and  Beida.     TTiis 
plan  was  given  to  divisional  commanders  at  a  con- 
ference in  Jaffa  on  December  12.     Two  days  later 
General  Hill  submitted  another  scheme  which  pro- 
vided for  a  surprise  attack  by  night  with  no  naval 
or  land  artillery  bombardment,  such  a  demonstration 
being  hkely  to  attract  attention.     General  Hill  sub- 
mitted his  proposals  in  detail.     General  Bulfin  gave 
the    plan    most    careful    consideration,  but  decided 
that  to  base  so  important  an  operation  on  the  success 
of   a   surprise    attack   was   too   hazardous,    and   he 
adhered  to  his  scheme  of  a  deliberate  operation  to 
be    carried    through    systematically.     He,    however, 
gave  General  Hill  permission  to  carry  out  his  surprise 
attack  on  the  night  of  December  20,  but  insisted 
that  the  bombardment  should  begin  according  to 
programme  at  daylight  on  the  21st  unless  the  surprise 
scheme  was  successful. 

A  brigade  of  the  54th  Division  and  the  1st  Aus- 
tralian Light  Horse  Brigade  relieved  the  Scots  in 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR  239 

the  trenches  for  three  nights  before  the  attempt. 
Every  man  in  the  Lowland  Division  entered  upon 
the  work  of  preparation  with  whole-hearted  en- 
thusiasm. There  was  much  to  be  done  and  materials 
were  none  too  plentiful.  Pontoons  were  wired  for 
and  reached  Jaffa  on  the  16th.  There  was  Uttle 
wood  available,  and  some  old  houses  in  Jaffa  were 
pulled  down  to  supply  the  Army's  needs.  The 
material  was  collected  in  the  orange  groves  around 
the  German  colony  at  Sarona,  a  northern  suburb 
of  Jaffa,  and  every  man  who  could  use  a  tool  was 
set  to  work  to  build  a  framework  of  rectangular 
boats  to  a  standard  design,  and  on  this  framework 
of  wood  tarpaulins  and  canvas  were  stretched.  These 
boats  were  Hght  in  structure,  and  were  so  designed 
that  working  parties  would  be  capable  of  transferring 
them  from  their  place  of  manufacture  to  the  river 
bank.  Each  boat  was  to  carry  twenty  men  fully 
armed  and  equipped  over  the  river.  They  became 
so  heavy  with  rain  that  they  in  fact  only  carried 
sixteen  men.  The  boat  builders  worked  where 
enemy  airmen  could  not  see  them,  and  when  the 
craft  were  completed  the  troops  were  practised  at 
night  in  embarking  and  ferrying  across  a  waterway 
— for  this  purpose  the  craft  were  put  on  a  big  pond — 
and  in  cutting  a  path  through  thick  cactus  hedges 
in  the  dark.  During  these  preparations  the  artillery 
was  also  active.  They  took  their  guns  u.p  to  forward 
positions  during  the  night,  and  before  the  date  of 
the  attack  there  was  a  bombardment  group  of  eight 
6-inch  howitzers  and  a  counter  battery  group  of  ten 
60-pounders  and  one  6-inch  Mark  vn.  gun  in  con- 
cealed positions,  and  the  artillery  dumps  had  been 
filled  with  400  rounds  for  each  heavy  gun  and  700 
rounds  for  each  field  piece.  The  weather  on  the 
18th,  19th,  and  20th  December  was  most  unfavour- 


240  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

able.  Rain  was  continuous  and  the  valley  of  the  Auja 
became  a  morass.  Tlie  luck  of  the  weather  was 
almost  always  against  General  Allenby's  Army,  and 
the  troops  had  become  accustomed  to  fighting  the 
elements  as  well  as  the  Turks,  but  here  was  a  situa- 
tion where  rain  might  have  made  all  the  difference 
between  success  and  failure.  General  Bulfin  saw 
Greneral  Hill  and  his  brigadiers  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  20th.  The  brigadiers  were  depressed  owing  to 
the  floods  and  the  state  of  the  ground,  because  it 
was  then  clear  that  causeways  would  have  to  be 
made  through  the  mud  to  the  river  banks.  General 
Hill  remained  enthusiastic  and  hopeful  and,  the 
Corps  Commander  supporting  him,  it  was  decided 
to  proceed  with  the  operation.  For  several  nights, 
with  the  object  of  giving  the  enemy  the  impression 
of  a  nightly  strafe,  there  had  been  artillery  and 
machine-gun  demonstrations  occurring  about  the 
same  time  and  lasting  as  long  as  those  planned  for 
the  night  of  the  crossing.  After  dusk  on  December 
20  there  was  a  big  movement  behind  our  lines.  The 
ferrying  and  bridging  parties  got  on  the  move,  each 
by  their  particular  road,  and  though  the  wind  was 
searchingly  cold  and  every  officer  and  man  became 
thoroughly  drenched,  there  was  not  a  sick  heart  in 
the  force.  The  157th  Brigade  proceeded  to  the  ford 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Auja,  the  156th  Brigade  advanced 
towards  the  river  just  below  Muannis,  and  the  155th 
Brigade  moved  up  to  the  mill  and  dam  at  Jerisheh, 
where  it  was  to  secure  the  crossing  and  then  swing 
to  the  right  to  capture  Hadrah.  The  advance  was 
slow,  but  that  the  Scots  were  able  to  move  at  all  is 
the  highest  tribute  to  their  determination.  The 
rain-soaked  canvas  of  the  boats  had  so  greatly  added 
to  their  weight  that  the  parties  detailed  to  carry 
them  from  the  Sarona  orange  orchards  found  the 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR  241 

task  almost  beyond  their  powers.  The  bridge  rafts 
for  one  of  the  crossings  could  not  be  got  up  to  the 
river  bank  because  the  men  were  continually  slipping 
in  the  mud  under  the  heavy  load,  and  the  attacking 
battalion  at  this  spot  was  ferried  over  in  coracles. 
On  another  route  a  section  carrying  a  raft  lost  one 
of  its  number,  who  was  afterwards  found  sunk  in 
mud  up  to  his  outstretched  arms.  The  tracks  were 
almost  impassable,  and  a  Lancashire  pioneer  bat- 
talion was  called  up  to  assist  in  improving  them. 
The  men  became  caked  with  mud  from  steel  helmet 
to  boots,  and  the  field  guns  which  had  to  be  hauled 
by  double  teams  were  so  bespattered  that  there  was 
no  need  for  camouflage.  In  those  strenuous  hours 
of  darkness  the  weather  continued  vile,  and  the 
storm  wind  flung  the  frequent  heavy  showers  with 
cutting  force  against  the  struggling  men.  The 
covering  party  which  was  to  cross  at  the  ford  found 
the  bar  had  shifted  under  the  pressure  of  flood  water 
and  that  the  marks  put  down  to  direct  the  column 
had  been  washed  away.  The  commanding  officer 
reconnoitred,  getting  up  to  his  neck  in  water,  and 
found  the  ford  considerably  out  of  position  and 
deeper  than  he  had  hoped,  but  he  brought  his  men 
together  in  fours  and,  ordering  each  section  to  link 
arms  to  prevent  the  swirhng  waters  carrying  them 
out  to  sea,  led  them  across  without  a  casualty.  In 
the  other  places  the  covering  parties  of  brigades  began 
to  be  ferried  over  at  eight  o'clock.  The  first  raft-loads 
were  paddled  across  with  muffled  oars.  A  line  was 
towed  behind  the  boats,  and  this  being  made  fast  on 
either  side  of  the  river  the  rafts  crossed  and  recrossed 
by  haulage  on  the  rope,  in  order  that  no  disturbance 
on  the  surface  by  oars  on  even  such  a  wild  night 
should  cause  an  alarm.  As  soon  as  the  covering 
parties  were  over,  light  bridges  to  carry  infantry  in 


242  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

file  were  constructed  by  lashing  the  rafts  together 
and  placmg  planks  on  them.  One  of  these  bridges 
was  burst  by  the  strength  of  the  current,  but  the 
delay  thus  caused  mattered  little  as  the  surprise 
was  complete.  When  the  bridges  of  rafts  had  been 
swmig  and  anchored,  blankets  and  carpets  were  laid 
upon  them  to  deaden  the  fall  of  marching  feet, 
and  during  that  silent  tramp  across  the  roUing  bridges 
many  a  keen-witted  Scot  found  it  difficult  to  restrain 
a  laugh  as  he  trod  on  carpets  richer  by  far  than  any 
that  had  lain  in  his  best  parlour  at  home.  He  could 
not  see  the  patterns,  but  rightly  guessed  that  they 
were  picked  out  in  the  bright  colours  of  the  East, 
and  the  muddy  marks  of  war-travelled  men  were 
left  on  them  without  regret,  for  the  carpets  had 
come  from  German  houses  in  Sarona.  How  per- 
fectly the  operation  was  conducted — noiselessly, 
swiftly,  absolutely  according  to  time-table — may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  two  officers  and  sixteen 
Turks  were  awakened  in  their  trench  dug-outs  at  the 
ford  by  the  river  mouth  two  hours  after  we  had 
taken  the  trenches.  The  officers  resisted  and  had 
to  be  killed.  Two  miles  behind  the  river  the  Low- 
landers  captured  the  whole  garrison  of  a  post  near 
the  sea,  none  of  whom  had  the  slightest  idea  that 
the  river  had  been  crossed.  An  officer  commanding 
a  battalion  at  Muannis  was  taken  in  his  bed,  whilst 
another  commanding  officer  had  the  surprise  of  his 
life  on  being  invited  to  put  his  hands  up  in  his  own 
house.  He  looked  as  if  he  had  just  awakened  from 
a  nightmare.  In  one  place  some  Turks  on  being 
attacked  with  the  bayonet  shouted  an  alarm  and 
one  of  the  crossings  was  shelled,  but  its  position  was 
immediately  changed  and  the  passage  of  the  river 
continued  without  interruption.  The  whole  of  the 
Turkish   system   covering   the   river,    trenches   well 


iiA-/-4..i*' 


A  GREAT  FEAT  OF  WAR  243 

concealed  in  the  river  banks  and  in  patches  of  culti- 
vated land,  were  rushed  in  silence  and  captured. 
Muannis  was  taken  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  the 
strong  position  at  Hadrah  was  also  carried  in  absolute 
silence,  and  at  dayhght  the  whole  line  the  Scots  had 
set  out  to  gain  was  won  and  the  assailants  were 
digging  themselves  in.  And  the  price  of  their 
victory  ?  The  Scots  had  8  officers  and  93  other 
ranks  casualties.  They  buried  over  100  Turkish  / 
dead  and  took  11  officers  and  296  other  ranks 
prisoners,  besides  capturing  ten  machine  guns. 

The  forcing  of  the  passage  of  the  Auja  was  a 
magnificent  achievement,  planned  with  great  ability 
by  General  HiU  and  carried  out  with  that  skill  and 
energy  which  the  brigadiers,  staff,  and  all  ranks  of 
the  Division  showed  throughout  the  campaign.  One 
significant  fact  serves  to  illustrate  the  Scots'  dis- 
ciphne.  Orders  were  that  not  a  shot  was  to  be  fired 
except  by  the  guns  and  machine  guns  making  their 
nightly  strafe.  Death  was  to  be  dealt  out  with  the 
bayonet,  and  though  the  Lowlanders  were  engaged 
in  a  life  and  death  struggle  with  the  Turks,  not  a 
single  round  of  rifle  ammunition  was  used  by  them 
till  daylight  came,  when,  as  a  keen  marksman  said, 
they  had  some  grand  running-man  practice.  During 
the  day  some  batteries  got  to  the  north  bank  by 
way  of  the  ford,  and  two  heavy  pontoon  bridges  were 
constructed  and  a  barrel  bridge,  which  had  been  put 
together  in  a  wadi  flowing  into  the  Auja,  was  floated 
down  and  placed  in  position.  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  sheUing  by  the  Turks,  but  they  fired  at  our  new 
positions  and  interfered  but  Httle  with  the  bridge 
construction. 

On  the  night  of  the  21st- 22nd  December  the  54th 
Division  assaulted  Bald  Hill,  a  prominent  mound 
south  of  the  Auja  from  which  a  magnificent  view 


244  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  the  country  was  gained.  Stiff  fighting  resulted, 
but  the  enemy  was  driven  off  with  a  loss  of  4  officers 
and  48  other  ranks  killed,  and  3  officers  and  41  men 
taken  prisoners.  At  dawn  the  Division  reported 
that  the  enemy  was  retiring  from  Mulebbis  and  Fejja, 
and  those  places  were  soon  in  our  hands.  H.M.S. 
Grafton,  with  Admiral  T.  Jackson,  the  monitors  M  29, 
M31,  and  M32,  and  the  destroyers  Lapwing  and 
Lizard,  arrived  off  the  coast  and  shelled  Jehl  and 
Arsuf,  and  the  52nd  Division,  advancing  on  a  broad 
front,  occupied  the  whole  of  their  objectives  by  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  157th  Brigade  got 
all  the  high  ground  about  Arsuf,  and  thus  prevented 
the  enemy  from  obtaining  a  long-range  view  of  Jaffa. 
A  few  rounds  of  shell  fired  by  a  naval  gun  at  a  range 
of  nearly  twenty  miles  fell  in  Jaffa  some  months 
afterwards,  but  with  this  exception  Jaffa  was  quite 
free  from  the  enemy's  attentions.  The  brilliant 
operation  on  the  Auja  had  saved  the  town  and  its 
people  many  anxious  days.  By  the  end  of  the  year 
there  were  three  strong  bridges  across  the  river,  and 
three  others  substantial  enough  to  bear  the  weight 
of  tractors  and  their  loads  were  under  construction. 
The  troops  received  their  winter  clothing  ;  bivouac 
shelters  and  tents  were  beginning  to  arrive.  Baths 
and  laundries  were  in  operation,  and  the  rigours  of 
the  campaign  began  to  be  eased.  But  the  XXIst 
Corps  could  congratulate  itseff  that,  notwithstanding 
two  months  of  open  warfare,  often  fifty  to  sixty  miles 
from  railhead,  men's  rations  had  never  been  reduced. 
Horses  and  mules  had  had  short  allowances,  but 
they  could  pick  up  a  httle  in  the  country.  The  men 
were  in  good  health,  despite  the  hardships  in  the 
hills  and  rapid  change  from  summer  to  winter,  and 
their  spirit  could  not  be  surpassed. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN 

We  have  seen  how  impregnable  the  defences  of 
Jerusalem  had  become  as  the  result  of  the  big  advance 
northwards  at  the  end  of  December.  As  far  as  any 
mihtary  forecast  could  be  made  we  were  now  in  an 
impenetrable  position  whatever  force  the  Turk,  with 
his  poor  communications,  could  employ  against  us 
either  from  the  direction  of  Nablus  or  from  the  east 
of  the  Jordan.  There  seemed  to  be  no  risk  whatever, 
so  long  as  we  chose  to  hold  the  line  XXth  Corps  had 
won,  of  the  Turks  again  approaching  Jerusalem, 
but  the  Commander-in-Chief  determined  to  make 
the  situation  absolutely  safe  by  advancing  eastwards 
to  capture  Jericho  and  the  crossings  of  the  Jordan. 
This  was  not  solely  a  measure  of  precaution.  It 
certainly  did  provide  a  means  for  preventing  the 
foe  from  operating  in  the  stern,  forbidding,  desolate, 
and  awe-inspiring  region  which  has  been  known  as 
the  Wilderness  since  Biblical  days,  and  doubtless 
before.  In  that  rough  country  it  would  be  extremely 
difficult  to  stop  small  bands  of  enterprising  troops 
getting  through  a  line  and  creating  diversions  which, 
while  of  small  military  consequence,  would  have 
been  troublesome,  and  might  have  had  the  effect 
of  unsettling  the  natives.  A  foothold  in  the  Jordan 
valley  would  have  the  great  advantage  of  enabling 
us  to  threaten  the  Hedjaz  railway,  the  Turks'  sole 
means  of  communication  with  Medina,  where  their 
garrison  was  holding  out  staunchly  against  the  troops 

246 


246  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

of  the  King  of  the  Hedjaz,  and  any  assistance  we 
could  give  the  King's  army  would  have  a  far-reaching 
effect  on  neutral  Arabs.     It  would  also  stop  the  grain 
trade  on  the  Dead  Sea,  on  which  the  enemy  set  store, 
and  would  divert  traffic  in  foodstuffs  to  natives  in 
Lower  Palestine,  who  at  this  time  were  to  a  consider- 
able extent  dependent  on  supplies  furnished  by  our 
Army.     The    Quartermaster- General    carried    many 
responsibilities  on  his  shoulders.     Time  was  not  the 
important  factor,  and  as  General  Allenby  was  anxious 
to  avoid  an  operation  which  might  involve  heavy 
losses,  it  was  at  first  proposed  that  the  enemy  should 
be  forced  to  leave  Jericho  by  the  gradually  closing 
in  on  the  town  from  north  and  south.     The  Turks 
had  got  an  immensely  strong  position  about  Talat 
ed  Dumm,  the  '  Mound  of  Blood,'  where  stands  a 
ruined  castle  of  the  Crusaders,  the  Chastel  Rouge. 
One  can  see  it  with  the  naked  eye  from  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  and  weeks  before  the  operation  started 
I  stood  in  the  garden  of  the  Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria 
hospice  and,  looking  over  one  of  the  most  inhospitable 
regions  of  the  world,  could  easily  make  out  the  Turks 
walking  on  the  road  near  the  Khan,  which  has  been 
called  the  Good  Samaritan  Inn.     The  country  has 
indeed  been  rightly  named.     Gaunt,  bare  mountains 
of  limestone  with  scarcely  a  patch  of  green  to  relieve 
the  nakedness  of  the  land  make  a  wilderness  indeed, 
and  one  sees  a  drop  of  some  four  thousand  feet  in  a 
distance  of   about  fifteen   miles.     The  hills  rise  in 
continuous  succession,  great  ramparts  of  the  Judean 
range,  and  instead  of  valleys  between  them  there  are 
huge  clefts  in  the  rock,  hundreds  of  feet  deep,  which 
carry  away  the  winter  torrents  to  the  Jordan  and 
Dead  Sea.     Over  beyond  the  edge  of  hills  are  the 
green  wooded  banks  of  the  Sacred  River,  then  a  patch 
or  two  of  stunted  trees,  and  finally  the  dark  walls 


BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN  247 

of  the  mountains  of  Moab  shutting  out  the  view  of 
the  land  which  still  holds  fascinating  remains  of 
Greek  civilisation. 

But  there  was  no  promise  of  an  early  peep  at  such 
historic  sights,  and  the  problem  of  getting  at  the 
nearer  land  was  hard  enough  for  present  deliberation. 
It  was  at  first  proposed  that  the  whole  of  the  XXth 
Corps  and  a  force  of  cavalry  should  carry  out  opera- 
tions simultaneously  on  the  north  and  east  of  the 
Corps  front  which  should  give  us  possession  of  the 
roads  from  Mar  Saba  and  Muntar,  and  also  from 
Taiyibeh  and  the  old  Roman  road  to  Jericho,  thus 
allowing  two  cavalry  forces  supported  by  infantry 
columns  to  converge  on  Jericho  from  the  north  and 
south.  However,  by  the  second  week  of  February 
there  had  been  bad  weather,  and  the  difficulties  of 
supplying  a  line  forty  miles  from  the  railway  on 
roads  which,  notwithstanding  a  vast  amount  of 
labour,  were  still  far  from  good,  were  practically 
insuperable,  and  it  was  apparent  that  a  northerly 
and  easterly  advance  at  the  same  time  would  involve 
a  delay  of  three  weeks. 

New  circumstances  came  to  light  after  the  advance 
was  first  arranged,  and  these  demanded  that  the 
enemy  should  be  driven  across  the  Jordan  as  soon 
as  possible.  General  AUenby  decided  that  the  opera- 
tions should  be  carried  out  in  two  phases.  The  first 
was  an  easterly  advance  to  thrust  the  enemy  from 
his  position  covering  Jericho,  to  force  him  across 
the  Jordan,  and  to  obtain  control  of  the  country 
west  of  the  river.  The  northerly  advance  to  secure 
the  Une  of  the  wadi  Aujah  was  to  follow.  This  river 
Aujah  which  flows  into  the  Jordan  must  not  be 
confused  with  the  Auja  on  the  coast  already  described. 

The  period  of  wet  weather  was  prolonged,  and  the 
accumulation  of  supplies  of  rations  and  ammunition 


248  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

did   not   permit   of   operations   commencing   before 
February  19.     That  they  started  so  early  is  an  elo- 
quent tribute  to  the  hard  work  of  the  Army,  for  the 
weather  by  the  date  of  the  attack  had  improved  but 
little,  and  the  task  of  getting  up  stores  could  only 
be  completed  by  extraordinary  exertions.     General 
Chetwode  ordered  a  brigade  of   the  60th   Division 
to  capture  Mukhmas  as  a  preliminary  to  a  concen- 
tration  at  that  place.     On   the    19th   the   Division 
occupied  a  front  of  about  fourteen  miles  from  near 
Muntar,  close  to  which  the  ancient  road  from  Beth- 
lehem to  Jericho  passes,  through  Ras  Umm  Deisis, 
across  the  Jerusalem-Jericho  road  to  Arak  Ibrahim, 
over  the  great  chasm  of  the  wadi  Farah  which  has 
cliff-like  sides  hundreds  of  feet  deep,  to  the  brown 
knob   of   Ras  et  Tawil.     The  line  was  not  gained 
without  fighting.     The  Turks  did  not  oppose  us  at 
Muntar — the  spot  where  the  Jews  released  the  Scape- 
goat— but  there  was  a  short  contest  for  Ibrahim,  and 
a  longer  fight  lasting  till  the  afternoon  for  an  en- 
trenched position  a  mile  north  of  it ;  Ras  et  Tawil 
was  ours  by  nine  in  the  morning.     Tawil  overlooks 
a  track  which  has  been  trodden  from  time  imme- 
morial.    It  leads  from  the  Jordan  valley  north-west 
of  Jericho,  and  passes  beneath  the  frowning  height 
of  Jebel  Kuruntul  with  its  bare  face  relieved  by  a 
monastery  built  into  the  rock  about   haH-way  up, 
and  a  walled  garden  on  top  to  mark  the  Mount  of 
Temptation,   as  the  pious  monks  believe  it  to  be. 
The  track  then  proceeds  westwards,  winding  in  and 
out  of  the  tremendous  slits  in  rock,  to  Mukhmas,  and 
it  was  probably  along  this  rough  line  that  the  Israel- 
ites marched  from  their  camp  at  Gilgal  to  overthrow 
the  Philistines.     On  the  right  of  the  Londoners  were 
two  brigades  of  the  Anzac  Mounted  Division,  working 
through  the  most  desolate  hills  and  wadis  down  to 


* 


BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN   249 

the  Dead  Sea  with  a  view  to  pushing  up  by  Nebi 
Musa,  which  tradition  has  ascribed  as  the  burial 
place  of  Moses,  and  thence  into  the  Jordan  valley. 
Northward  of  the  60th  Division  the  53rd  was  extend- 
ing its  flank  eastwards  to  command  the  Taiyibeh- 
Jericho  road,  and  the  Welsh  troops  occupied 
Rummon,  a  huge  mount  of  chalk  giving  h.  good  view 
of  the  Wilderness.  This  was  the  position  on  the 
night  of  19th  February. 

At  dawn  on  the  20th  the  Londoners  were  to  attack 
the  Turks  in  three  columns.  The  right  column  was 
to  march  from  El  Muntar  to  Ekteif ,  the  centre  column 
to  proceed  along  the  Jerusalem- Jericho  road  between 
the  highway  and  the  wadi  Farah,  and  the  left  column 
was  to  go  forward  by  the  Tawil- Jebel  Kuruntul  track. 
The  1st  Australian  Light  Horse  Brigade  and  the  New 
Zealand  Mounted  Rifles  Brigade  were,  if  possible, 
to  make  Nebi  Musa. 

The  infantry  attack  was  as  fuie  as  anything  done 
in  the  campaign.  I  had  the  advantage  of  witnessing 
the  centre  column  carry  out  the  whole  of  its  task 
and  of  seeing  the  right  column  complete  as  gallant 
an  effort  as  any  troops  could  make,  and  as  one  saw 
them  scale  frowning  heights  and  clamber  up  and 
down  the  roughest  of  torrent  beds,  one  realised  that 
more  than  three  months'  fighting  had  not  removed 
the  '  bloom  '  from  these  Cockney  warriors,  and  that 
their  physique  and  courage  were  proof  against  long 
and  heavy  trials  of  campaigning.  The  chief  ob- 
jective of  the  centre  column  was  Talat  ed  Dumm 
which,  lying  on  the  Jericho  road  just  before  the 
junction  of  the  old  and  the  new  road  to  the  Jordan 
valley,  was  the  key  to  Jericho.  It  is  hard  to  imagine 
a  better  defensive  position.  To  the  north  of  the 
road  is  the  wadi  Farah,  a  great  crack  in  the  rocks 
which  can  only  be  crossed  in  a  few  places,  and  which 


250  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

a  few  riflemen  could  cover.  Likewise  a  platoon 
distributed  behind  rocks  on  the  many  hills  could 
command  the  approaches  from  all  directions,  while 
the  hill  of  Talat  ed  Dumm,  by  the  Good  Samaritan 
Inn,  and  the  height  whereon  the  Crusader  ruins 
stand,  dominated  a  broad  flat  across  which  our 
troops  must  move.  This  position  the  180th  Brigade 
attacked  at  dawn.  Tlie  guns  opened  before  the 
sun  appeared  above  the  black  crest  line  of  the  moun- 
tains of  Moab,  and  well  before  long  shadows  were 
cast  across  the  Jordan  valley  the  batteries  were 
tearing  to  pieces  the  stone  walls  and  rocky  eyries 
sheltering  machine  -  gunners  and  infantry.  This 
preliminary  bombardment,  if  short,  was  wonderfully 
effective.  From  where  I  stood  I  saw  the  heavies 
pouring  an  unerring  fire  on  to  the  Crusader  Castle, 
huge  spurts  of  black  smoke,  and  the  dislocation  of 
big  stones  which  had  withstood  the  disintegrating 
effect  of  many  centuries  of  sun  powder,  telling  the 
Forward  Observing  Officer  that  his  gunners  were 
well  on  the  target  and  that  to  live  in  that  havoc 
the  Turks  must  seek  the  shelter  of  vaults  cut  deep 
down  in  the  rock  by  masons  of  old.  No  enemy 
could  delay  our  progress  from  that  shell-torn  spot. 
Lighter  guns  searched  other  positions  and  whiffs 
of  shrapnel  kept  Turks  from  their  business.  There 
are  green  patches  on  the  western  side  of  Talat  ed 
Dumm  in  the  early  months  of  the  year  before  the 
sun  has  burned  up  the  country.  Over  these  the 
infantry  advanced  as  laid  down  in  the  book.  The 
whirring  rap-rap  of  machine  guns  at  present  un- 
located  did  not  stop  them,  and  as  our  machine-gun 
sections,  ever  on  the  alert  to  keep  down  rival  auto- 
matic guns,  found  out  and  sprayed  the  nests,  the 
enemy  w^as  seen  to  be  anxious  about  his  line  of  retreat. 
One  large  party,  harried  by  shrapnel  and  machine- 


BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN   251 

gun  fire,  left  its  positions  and  rushed  towards  a 
defile,  but  rallied  and  came  back,  though  when  it 
reoccupied  its  former  line  the  Londoners  had  reached 
a  point  to  enfiilade  it,  and  it  suffered  heavily.  We 
soon  got  this  position,  and  then  our  troops,  ascending 
some  spurs,  poured  a  destructive  fire  into  the  defile 
and  so  harassed  the  Turks  re-forming  for  a  counter- 
attack as  to  render  feeble  their  efforts  to  regain 
what  they  had  lost. 

By  eight  o'clock  we  had  taken  the  whole  of  the 
Talat  ed  Dumm  position,  and  long-range  sniping 
throughout  the  day  did  not  disturb  our  secure  pos- 
session of  it.  Immediately  the  heights  were  occupied 
the  gims  went  ahead  to  new  points,  and  armoured 
cars  left  the  road  to  try  to  find  a  way  to  the  south- 
east to  protect  the  flank  of  the  right  column.  They 
had  a  troublesome  journey.  Some  of  the  crews 
walked  well  ahead  of  the  cars  to  reconnoitre  the 
tracks,  and  it  speaks  well  for  the  efficiency  of  the 
cars  as  well  as  for  the  pluck  and  cleverness  of  the 
drivers  that  in  crossing  a  mile  or  two  of  that  terribly 
broken  mountainous  country  no  car  was  overturned 
and  all  got  back  to  the  road  without  mishap. 

Throughout  the  night  and  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  day  of  February  20  the  right  column  were 
fighting  under  many  difficulties.  In  their  march 
from  the  hill  of  Muntar  they  had  to  travel  over  ground 
so  cracked  and  strewn  with  boulders  that  in  many 
parts  the  brigade  could  only  proceed  in  single  file. 
In  some  places  the  track  chosen  had  a  huge  cleft  in 
the  mountain  on  one  side  and  a  cHff  face  on  the  other. 
It  was  a  continual  succession  of  watercourses  and 
mountains,  of  uphill  and  downhill  travel  over  the 
most  uneven  surface  in  the  blackness  of  night,  and 
it  took  nearly  eight  hours  to  march  three  miles.  The 
nature  of  the  country  was  a  very  serious  obstacle 


252  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

and  the  column  was  late  in  deploying  for  attack. 
But  bad  as  was  the  route  the  men  had  followed  during 
the  night,  it  was  easy  as  compared  with  the  position 
they  had  set  out  to  carry.  Tliis  was  Jebel  Ekteif, 
the  southern  end  of  the  range  of  hills  of  which  Talat 
ed  Dumm  was  the  northern.  Ekteif  presented  to 
this  column  a  face  as  precipitous  as  Gibraltar  and 
perhaps  half  as  high.  There  was  a  ledge  running 
round  it  about  three-quarters  of  the  way  from  the 
top,  and  for  hours  one  could  see  the  Turks  lying  flat  on 
this  rude  path  trying  to  pick  off  the  intrepid  climbers 
attempting  a  precarious  ascent.  Some  mountain 
guns  suddenly  ranged  on  the  enemy  on  this  ledge, 
and,  picking  up  the  range  with  remarkable  rapidity, 
forced  the  Turks  into  more  comfortable  positions. 
The  enemy,  too,  had  some  well-served  guns,  and  they 
plastered  the  spurs  leading  to  the  crest  from  the  west, 
but  our  infantry's  audacity  never  faltered,  and  after 
we  had  got  into  the  first  lines  on  the  hill  our  men 
proceeded  methodically  to  rout  out  the  machine  guns 
from  their  nooks  and  crannies.  This  was  a  somewhat 
lengthy  process,  but  small  parties  working  in  support 
of  each  other  gradually  crushed  opposition,  and  the 
huge  rocky  rampart  was  ours  by  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  Meanwhile  two  brigades  of  the  Anzac 
Moimted  Division  were  moving  eastwards  from  Mun- 
tar  over  the  hills  and  wadis  down  to  the  Dead  Sea, 
whence  turning  northwards  they  marched  towards 
Nebi  Musa  to  try  to  get  on  to  the  Jordan  valley  flats 
to  threaten  the  Turks  in  rear.  The  terrain  was 
appaUingly  bad  and  horses  had  to  be  led,  the  troops 
frequently  proceeding  in  Indian  file.  No  guns  could 
be  got  over  the  hills  to  support  the  Anzacs,  and  when 
they  tried  to  pass  through  a  narrow  defile  south  of 
Nebi  Musa  it  was  found  that  the  enemy  covered 
the  approach  with  machine  guns,  and  progress  was 


GERMAN  PRISONERS  CROSSING  THE  JORDAN 


BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  JORDAN   253 

stopped  dead  until,  during  the  early  hours  of  the 
following  morning,  some  of  the  Londoners'  artillery 
managed  by  a  superhuman  effort  to  get  a  few  guns 
over   the   mountains   to   support   the   cavalry.     By 
this  time  the  Turks  had  had  enough  of  it,  and  while 
it  was  dark  they  were  busy  trekking  through  Jericho 
towards  the  Ghoraniyeh  bridge  over  the  river,  covered 
by  a  force  on  the  Jebel  Kuruntul  track  which  pre- 
vented the  left  column  from  reaching  the  cliffs  over- 
looking the  Jordan  valley.      By  dawn  on  the  21st 
Nebi  Musa  was  made  good,  the  1st  Australian  Light 
Horse  Brigade  and  the  New  Zealand  Brigade  were 
in  Jericho  by  eight  o'clock  and  had  cleared  the  Jordan 
valley  as  far  north  as  the  river  Aujah,  the  Londoners 
holding  the  line  of  cliffs  which  absolutely  prevented 
any  possibility  of  the  enemy  ever  again  threatening 
Jerusalem  or  Bethlehem  from  the  east.     This  suc- 
cessful operation  also  put  an  end  to  the  Turks'  Dead 
Sea  grain  traffic.     They  had  given  up  hope  of  keeping 
their  landing  place  on  the  northern  shores  of  the 
Dead  Sea  when  we  took  Talat  ed  Dumm,  and  one 
hour  after  our  infantry  had  planted  themselves  on 
the  Hill  of  Blood  we  saw  the  enemy  burning  his 
boats,  wharves,  and  storehouses  at  Rujm  el  Bahr, 
where  he  had  expended  a  good  deal  of  labour  to  put 
up  buildings  to  store  grain  wanted  for  his  army. 
Subsequently   we   had   some   naval   men   operating 
motor  boats  from  this  point,  and  these  sailors  achieved 
a  record  on  that  melancholy  waterway  at  a  level 
far  below  that  at  which  any  submarine,  British  or 
German,  ever  rested. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  TOUCH  OF  THE  CIVILISING  HAND 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  population  of  any  city 
within  the  zones  of  war  profited  so  much  at  the  hands 
of  the  conqueror  as  Jerusalem.  In  a  httle  more  than 
half  a  year  a  wondrous  change  was  effected  in  the 
condition  of  the  people,  and  if  it  had  been  possible 
to  search  the  Oriental  mind  and  to  get  a  free  and 
frank  expression  of  opinion,  one  would  probably 
have  found  a  universal  thankfulness  for  General 
Allenby's  deliverance  of  the  Holy  City  from  the  hands 
of  the  Turks.  And  with  good  reason.  The  scourge 
of  war  so  far  as  the  British  Army  was  concerned  left 
Jerusalem  the  Golden  untouched.  For  the  50,000 
people  in  the  City  the  skilfully  applied-  military 
pressure  which  put  an  end  to  Turkish  misgovernment 
was  the  beginning  of  an  era  of  happiness  and  content- 
ment of  which  they  had  hitherto  had  no  conception. 
Justice  was  administered  in  accordance  with  British 
ideals,  every  man  enjoyed  the  profits  of  his  industry, 
traders  no  longer  ran  the  gauntlet  of  extortionate 
officials,  the  old  time  corruption  was  a  thing  of  the 
past,  public  health  was  organised  as  far  as  it  could 
be  on  Western  lines,  and  though  in  matters  of  sanita- 
tion and  personal  cleanliness  the  inhabitants  still 
had  much  to  learn,  the  appearance  of  the  Holy  City 
and  its  population  vastly  improved  under  the  touch 
of  a  civihsing  hand.  Sights  that  offended  more  than 
one  of  the  senses  on  the  day  when  General  Allenby 
made  his  official  entry  had  disappeared,  and  peace 

254 


THE  TOUCH  OF  THE  CIVILISING  HAND    255 

and  order  reigned  where  previously  had  been  but 
misery,  poverty,  disease,  and  squalor. 

One  of  the  biggest  blots  upon  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment of  the  City  was  the  total  failure  to  provide  an 
adequate  water  supply.  What  they  could  not,  or 
would  not,  do  in  their  rule  of  four  hundred  years 
His  Majesty's  Royal  Engineers  accompHshed  in  a 
little  more  than  two  months,  and  now  for  the  first 
time  in  history  every  civilian  in  Jerusalem  can  obtain 
as  much  pure  mountain  spring  water  as  he  wishes, 
and  for  this  water,  as  fresh  and  bright  as  any  bubbling 
out  of  Welsh  hills,  not  a  penny  is  charged.  The 
picturesque,  though  usually  unclean,  water  carrier 
is  passing  into  the  Umbo  of  forgotten  things,  and  his 
energies  are  being  diverted  into  other  channels.  The 
germs  that  swarmed  in  his  leathern  water  bags  will 
no  longer  endanger  the  lives  of  the  citizens,  and  the 
deadly  perils  of  stagnant  cistern  water  have  been  to 
a  large  extent  removed. 

For  its  water  Jerusalem  used  to  rely  mainly  upon 
the  winter  rainfall  to  fill  its  cisterns.  Practically 
every  house  has  its  underground  reservoir,  and  it 
is  estimated  that  if  aU  were  full  they  would  contain 
about  360,000,000  gaUons.  But  many  had  faUen 
into  disrepair  and  most,  if  not  the  whole  of  them, 
required  thorough  cleansing.  One  which  was  in- 
spected by  our  sanitary  department  had  not  been 
emptied  for  nineteen  years.  To  supplement  the 
cistern  supply  the  Mosque  of  Omar  reservoir  halved 
with  Bethlehem  the  water  which  flowed  from  near 
Solomon's  Pools  down  an  aqueduct  constructed  by 
Roman  engineers  under  Herod  before  the  Saviour 
was  born.  This  was  not  nearly  sufficient,  nor  was 
it  so  constant  a  supply  as  that  provided  by  our 
Army  engineers.  They  went  farther  afield.  They 
found  a  group  of  spring-heads  in  an  absolutely  clean 


256  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

gathering  ground  on  the  hills  yielding  some  14,000 
gallons  an  hour,  and  this  water  which  was  running 
to  waste  is  lifted  to  the  top  of  a  hill  from  which  it 
flows  by  gravity  through  a  long  pipe-hne  to  Jerusalem, 
where  a  reservoir  has  been  built  on  a  high  point  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  city.  Supplies  of  this  beautiful 
water  run  direct  to  the  hospitals,  and  at  standpipes 
all  over  the  city  the  inhabitants  take  as  much  as  they 
desire.  The  water  consumption  of  the  people  became 
ten  times  what  it  was  in  the  previous  year,  and  this 
fact  alone  told  how  the  boon  was  appreciated. 

The  scheme  did  not  stop  at  putting  up  standpipes 
for  those  who  fetched  the  water.  A  portion  of  the 
contents  of  the  cisterns  was  taken  for  watering  troop 
horses  in  the  spring — troops  were  not  allowed  to 
drink  it.  The  water  level  of  these  cisterns  became 
very  low,  and  as  they  got  emptied  the  authorities 
arranged  for  refilling  them  on  the  one  condition  that 
they  were  first  thoroughly  cleansed  and  put  in  order. 
The  British  administration  would  not  be  parties  to 
the  perpetuation  of  a  system  which  permitted  the 
fouling  of  good  crystal  water.  A  householder  had 
merely  to  apply  to  the  Military  Governor  for  water, 
and  a  sanitary  officer  inspected  the  cistern,  ordered 
it  to  be  cleansed,  and  saw  that  this  was  done ;  then 
the  Department  of  Public  Health  gave  its  certificate, 
and  the  engineers  ran  a  pipe  to  the  cistern  and  filled 
it,  no  matter  what  its  capacity.  Two  cisterns  were 
replenished  with  between  60,000  and  70,000  gallons 
of  sparkling  water  from  the  hills  in  place  of  water 
heavily  charged  with  the  accumulation  of  summer 
dust  on  roofs,  and  the  dust  of  Jerusalem  roads,  as 
we  had  sampled  it,  is  not  as  clean  as  desert  sand. 

The  installation  of  the  supply  was  a  triumph  for 
the  Royal  Engineers.  In  peace  times  the  work 
would  have  taken  from  one  to  two  years  to  complete. 


THE  TOUCH  OF  THE  CIVILISING  HAND    257 

A  preliminary  investigation  and  survey  of  the  ground 
was  made  on  February  14,  and  a  scheme  was  sub- 
mitted four  days  later.  Owing  to  the  shortage  of 
transport  and  abnormally  bad  weather  work  could 
not  be  commenced  till  April  12.  Many  miles  of  pipe 
line  had  to  be  laid  and  a  powerful  pumping  plant 
erected,  but  water  was  being  dehvered  to  the  people 
of  Jerusalem  on  the  18th  of  June.  Other  mihtary 
works  have  done  much  for  the  common  good  in 
Palestine,  but  none  of  them  were  of  greater  utility 
than  this.  Mahomedans  seeing  bright  water  flow 
into  Jerusalem  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
all  time.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  American 
Red  Cross  Society,  which  sent  a  large  and  capable 
staff  to  the  Holy  Land  after  America  came  into  the 
war,  knew  of  the  lack  of  an  adequate  water  supply 
for  Jerusalem,  and  with  that  foresight  which  Ameri- 
cans show,  forwarded  to  Egypt  for  transportation 
to  Jerusalem  some  thousand  tons  of  water  mains  to 
provide  a  water  service.  When  the  American  Red 
Cross  workers  reached  the  Holy  City  they  found  the 
Army's  plans  almost  completed,  and  they  were  the 
first  to  pay  a  tribute  to  what  they  described  as  the 
'  civilising  march  of  the  British  Army.' 

Those  who  watched  the  ceaseless  activities  of  the 
PubUc  Health  Administration  were  not  surprised  at 
the  remarkable  improvement  in  the  sick  and  death 
rates,  not  only  of  Jerusalem  but  of  all  the  towns 
and  districts.  The  new  water  supply  wiU  unquestion- 
ably help  to  lower  the  figures  still  further.  A  medical 
authority  recently  told  me  that  the  health  of  the 
community  was  wonderfully  good  and  there  was  no 
suspicion  of  cholera,  outbreaks  of  which  were  frequent 
under  the  Turkish  regime.  Government  hospitals 
were  estabhshed  in  all  large  centres.  In  this  country 
where  small-pox  takes  a  heavy  toll  the  '  conscientious 


258  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

objector '  was  unknown,  and  many  thousands  of 
natives  in  a  few  months  came  forward  of  their  own 
free  will  to  be  vaccinated.  Typhus  and  relapsing 
fever,  both  lice-borne  diseases,  used  to  claim  many 
victims,  but  the  figures  fell  very  rapidly,  due  largely, 
no  doubt,  to  the  full  use  to  which  disinfecting  plants 
were  put  in  all  areas  of  the  occupied  territory.  The 
virtues  of  bodily  cleanliness  were  taught,  and  the 
people  were  given  that  personal  attention  which 
was  entirely  lacking  under  Turkish  rule.  It  is  not 
easy  to  overcome  the  prejudices  and  cure  the  habits 
of  thousands  of  years,  but  progress  is  being  made 
surely  if  slowly,  and  already  there  is  a  gratifying 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  people  which 
is  patent  to  any  observer. 

In  Jerusalem  an  infants'  welfare  bureau  was  insti- 
tuted, where  mothers  were  seen  before  and  after 
childbirth,  infants'  clinics  were  established,  a  body 
of  health  was  formed,  and  a  kitchen  was  opened  to 
provide  food  for  babies  and  the  poor.  The  nurses 
were  mainly  local  subjects  who  had  to  undergo  an 
adequate  training,  and  there  was  no  one  who  did 
not  confidently  predict  a  rapid  fall  in  the  infant 
mortality  rate  which,  to  the  shame  of  the  Turkish 
administration,  was  fully  a  dozen  times  that  of  the 
highest  of  EngUsh  towns.  The  spadework  was  aU 
done  by  the  medical  staff  of  the  Occupied  Enemy 
Territory  Administration.  The  call  was  urgent,  and 
though  labouring  under  war-time  difficulties  they 
got  things  going  quickly  and  smoothly.  Some  volun- 
tary societies  were  assisting,  and  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  units  enabled  aU  to  carry 
on  a  great  and  beneficent  work. 


t  .. 


k.i. 


CHAPTER  XX 

OUR  CONQUERING  AIRMEN 

The  airmen  who  were  the  eyes  of  the  Army  in 
Sinai  and  Palestine  can  look  back  on  their  record  as 
a  great  achievement.  Enormous  difficulties  were 
faced  with  stout  hearts,  and  the  Eoyal  Flying  Corps 
spirit  surmounted  them.  It  was  one  long  test  of 
courage,  endurance,  and  efficiency,  and  so  triumph- 
antly did  the  airmen  come  through  the  ordeal  that 
General  Allenby's  Army  may  truthfully  be  said  to 
have  secured  as  complete  a  mastery  of  the  air  as  it  did 
of  the  plains  and  hills  of  Southern  Palestine.  Those 
of  us  who  watched  the  airmen  '  carrying  on,'  from 
the  time  when  their  aeroplanes  were  inferior  to  those 
of  the  Germans  in  speed,  climbing  capacity,  and  other 
quahties  which  go  to  make  up  first-class  fighting 
machines,  till  the  position  during  the  great  advance 
when  few  enemy  aviators  dared  cross  our  lines,  can 
well  testify  to  the  wonderful  work  our  airmen  per- 
formed. 

With  comparatively  few  opportunities  for  combat 
because  the  enemy  knew  his  inferiority  and  declined 
to  fight  unless  forced,  the  pilots  and  observers  from 
the  moment  our  attack  was  about  to  start  were  always 
aggressive,  and  though  the  number  of  their  victims 
may  seem  small  compared  with  aerial  victories  on 
the  Western  Front  they  were  substantial  and  im- 
portant. In  the  month  of  January  1917  the  flying 
men  accounted  for  eleven  aeroplanes,  five  of  these 

259 


260  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

falling  victims  to  one  pilot.  The  last  of  these  vic- 
tories I  myself  witnessed.  In  a  single-seater  the  pilot 
engaged  two  two-seater  aeroplanes  of  a  late  type, 
driving  down  one  machine  within  our  line,  the  pilot 
killed  by  eleven  bullets  and  the  observer  wounded. 
He  then  chased  the  other  plane,  whose  pilot  soon  lost 
his  taste  for  fighting,  dropped  into  a  heavy  cloud 
bank,  and  got  away.  No  odds  were  too  great  for 
our  airmen.  I  have  seen  one  aeroplane  swoop  down 
out  of  the  blue  to  attack  a  formation  of  six  enemy 
machines,  sending  one  crashing  to  earth  and  dis- 
persing the  remainder.  In  one  brief  fight  another 
pilot  drove  down  three  German  planes.  The  airman 
does  not  talk  of  his  work,  and  we  knew  that  what 
we  saw  and  heard  of  were  but  fragments  in  the  silent 
records  of  great  things  done.  Much  that  was  accom- 
plished was  far  behind  our  visual  range,  high  up  over 
the  bleak  hills  of  Judea,  above  even  the  rain  clouds 
driven  across  the  heights  by  the  fury  of  a  winter 
gale,  or  skimming  over  the  dull  surface  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  flying  some  hundreds  of  feet  below  sea  level  to 
interrupt  the  passage  of  foodstuffs  of  which  the  Turk 
stood  in  need. 

All  through  the  Army's  rapid  march  northwards 
from  the  crushed  Gaza-Beersheba  line  the  airmen's 
untiring  work  was  of  infinite  value.  When  the  Turkish 
retreat  began  the  enemy  was  bombed  and  machine- 
gunned  for  a  fuU  week,  the  railway,  aerodromes, 
troops  on  the  march,  artiUery,  and  transport  being 
hit  time  and  again,  and  five  smashed  aeroplanes  and 
a  large  quantity  of  aircraft  stores  of  every  description 
were  found  at  Menshiye  alone.  The  raid  on  that 
aerodrome  was  so  successful  that  at  night  the  Germans 
burnt  the  whole  of  the  equipment  not  destroyed  by 
bombs.  Three  machines  were  also  destroyed  by  us 
at  Et  Tineh,  five  at  Ramleh  and  one  at  Ludd,  and  the 


OUR  CONQUERING  AIRIVIEN 


261 


country  was  covered  with  the  debris  of  a  well-bombed 
and  beaten  army.  After  Jerusalem  came  under  the 
safe  protection  of  our  arms  airmen  harassed  the  re- 
tiring enemy  with  bombs  and  machine  guns.  The 
wmd  was  strong,  but  defying  treacherous  eddies, 
the  pilots  came  through  the  valleys  between  steep- 
sloped  hills  and  caught  the  Turks  on  the  Nablus  road, 
emptying  their  bomb  racks  at  a  height  of  a  few 
hundred  feet,  and  giving  the  scattered  troops  machine- 
gun  fire  on  the  return  journey. 

A  glance  at  the  list  of  honours  bestowed  on  officers 
and  other  ranks  of  the  R.F.C.  serving  with  the  Egyp- 
tian Expeditionary  Force  in  1917  is  sufficient  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  efficiency  of  the  service  of  our  airmen. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Palestine  Wing  was 
small,  if  thoroughly  representative  of  the  Flying 
Corps  ;  its  numbers  were  few  but  the  quahty  was 
thgre.  Indeed  I  heard  the  Austrahan  squadron  of 
flymg  men  which  formed  part  of  the  Wing  described 
by  the  highest  possible  authority  as  probably  the 
finest  squadron  in  the  whole  of  the  British  service. 
This  following  list  of  honours  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  eloquent  testimony  to  the  airmen's  work  in 
Palestine  : 


Victoria  Cross 

Distinguished  Service  Order 
Military  Cross 
Croix  de  Guerre   . 
Military  Medal     . 
Meritorious  Service  Medal 
Order  of  the  Nile 


1 
4 

34 
2 
1 

14 
2 


The  sum  total  of  the  R.F.C.  work  was  not  to  be 
calculated  merely  from  death  and  damage  caused  to 
the  enemy  from  the  air.  Strategical  and  tactical 
reconnaissances  formed   a   large   part  of   the   daily 


262  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

round,  and  the  reports  brought  in  always  added  to 
our  Army's  store  of  information.  In  Palestine, 
possibly  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  other  theatre 
of  war,  our  map-makers  had  to  rely  on  aerial  photo- 
graphs to  supply  them  with  the  details  required  for 
mihtary  maps.  The  best  maps  we  had  of  Palestine 
were  those  prepared  by  Lieutenant  H.  H.  Kitchener, 
R.E.,  and  Lieutenant  Conder  in  1881  for  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund.  They  were  still  remarkably 
accurate  so  far  as  they  went,  but  '  roads,'  to  give 
the  tracks  a  .description  to  which  they  were  not 
entitled,  had  altered,  and  villages  had  disappeared, 
and  newer  and  additional  information  had  to  be 
supplied.  The  Royal  Flying  Corps — it  had  not  yet 
become  the  Royal  Air  Force — furnished  it,  and  aU 
important  details  of  hundreds  of  square  miles  of 
country  which  survey  parties  could  not  reach  were 
registered  with  wonderful  accuracy  by  aerial  photo- 
graphers. 

The  work  began  for  the  battle  of  Rafa,  and  the 
enemy  positions  on  the  Magruntein  hill  were  all  set 
out  before  General  Chetwode  when  the  Desert  Column 
attacked  and  scored  an  important  victory.  Then 
when  12,000  Turks  were  fortifying  the  WeU  Sheikh 
Nuran  country  covering  the  wadi  Ghuzze  and  the 
Shellal  springs,  not  a  redoubt  or  trench  but  was  re- 
corded with  absolute  fidelity  on  photographic  prints, 
and  long  before  the  Turks  abandoned  the  place  and 
gave  us  a  fine  supply  of  water  we  had  excellent  maps 
of  the  position.  In  time  the  whole  Gaza-Beersheba 
line  was  completely  photographed  and  maps  were 
continually  revised,  and  if  any  portion  of  the  Turkish 
system  of  defences  was  changed  or  added  to  the 
commander  in  the  district  concerned  was  notified 
at  once.     To  such  perfection  did  the  R.F.C.  photo- 


OUR  CONQUERING  AIRMEN  263 

graphic  branch  attain,  that  maps  showing  full  details 
of  new  or  altered  trenches  were  in  the  hands  of 
generals  within  four  hours  of  the  taking  of  the  photo- 
graphs. Later  on  the  work  of  the  branch  increased 
enormously,  and  the  results  fully  repaid  the  infinite 
care  and  labour  bestowed  upon  it. 

The  R.F.C.  made  long  flights  in  this  theatre  of 
war,  and  some  of  them  were  exceptionally  difficult 
and  dangerous.  A  French  battleship  when  bom- 
barding a  Turkish  port  of  military  importance  had 
two  of  our  machines  to  spot  the  effect  of  her  gunfire. 
To  be  with  the  ship  when  the  action  opened  the 
airmen  had  to  fly  in  darkness  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
from  a  distant  aerodrome,  and  they  both  reached 
the  rendezvous  within  five  minutes  of  the  appointed 
time.  The  Turks  on  their  lines  of  communication  with 
the  Hedjaz  have  an  unpleasant  recollection  of  being 
bombed  at  Maan.  That  was  a  noteworthy  expedition. 
Three  machines  set  out  from  an  aerodrome  over  150 
miles  away  in  a  straight  line,  the  pilots  having  to 
steer  a  course  above  country  with  no  prominent  land- 
marks. They  went  over  a  waterless  desert  so  rough 
that  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  come  down  with- 
out seriously  damaging  a  plane,  and  if  a  pilot  had  been 
forced  to  land  his  chance  of  getting  back  to  our  country 
would  have  been  almost  nil.  Water  bottles  and 
rations  were  carried  in  the  machines,  but  they  were 
not  needed,  for  the  three  pilots  came  home  together 
after  hitting  the  station  buildings  at  Maan  and 
destroying  considerable  material  and  suppHes. 

The  aeroplane  has  been  put  to  many  uses  in  war 
and,  it  may  be,  there  are  instances  on  other  fronts 
of  it  being  used,  in  emergencies,  as  an  ambulance. 
When  a  little  mobile  force  rounded  up  the  Turkish 
post  at  Hassana,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sinai 


264  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Peninsula,  one  of  our  men  received  so  severe  a  wound 
that  an  immediate  operation  was  necessary.  An 
airman  at  once  volunteered  to  carry  the  wounded 
jnan  to  the  nearest  hospital,  forty-four  miles  away 
across  the  desert,  and  by  his  action  a  Hfe  was 
saved. 


APPENDICES 


The  following  telegram  was  sent  by  Enver  Pasha 
to  Field-Marshal  von  Hindenburg,  at  Supreme  Army- 
Command  Headquarters,  from  Constantinople  on 
August  23,  1917  : 

The  news  of  the  despatch  of  strong  enemy  forces  to  Egypt, 
together  with  the  nomination  of  General  Allenby  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief on  our  Syrian  Front,  indicates  that  the 
British  contemplate  an  offensive  on  the  Syrian  Front,  and 
very  probably  before  the  middle  of  November. 

The  preservation  of  the  Sinai  Front  is  a  primary  condition 
to  the  success  of  the  Yilderim  undertaking. 

After  a  further  conversation  with  the  Commander  of 
the  IVth  Army  (Jemal  Pasha)  I  consider  it  necessary  to 
strengthen  this  front  by  one  of  the  infantry  divisions  in- 
tended for  Yilderim,  and  to  despatch  this  division  im- 
mediately from  Aleppo. 

With  this  reinforcement  the  defence  of  the  Sinai  Front 
by  the  IVth  Army  is  assured. 

General  von  Falkenhajm  takes  up  the  position  that  he 
does  not  consider  the  defence  assured,  and  that  the  further 
reduction  of  Yilderim  forces  is  to  be  deprecated  under  any 
circumstances. 

He  consequently  recommends  that  we  on  our  side  should 
attack  the  British,  and  as  far  as  possible  surprise  them, 
before  they  are  strengthened.  He  wishes  to  carry  out  this 
attack  with  four  infantry  divisions,  and  the  'Asia  '  Corps. 
Two  of  the  four  infantry  divisions  have  stiU  to  be  despatched 
to  the  front. 

I  cannot  yet  decide  to  support  the  proposal,  nor  need 
I  do  80,  as  the  transport  of  an  infantry  division  from  Aleppo 
to  Rayak  requires  twenty  days.     During  this  period  the 


267 


268  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

situation  as  regards  the  enemy  will  become  clear,  and  one 
will  become  better  able  to  estimate  the  chance  of  success 
of  an  attack. 

I  must,  however,  in  any  case  be  able  to  dispose  of  more 
forces  than  at  present,  either  for  the  completion  of  Yilderim, 
or  for  the  replacement  of  the  very  heavy  losses  which  will 
certainly  occur  in  the  Syrian  attack. 

I  must  consequently  reiterate,  to  my  deep  regret,  my 
request  for  the  return  of  the  Vlth  Army  Corps  [which  was 
operating  at  that  time  in  the  Dobrudja]  and  for  the  despatch 
of  this  Corps,  together  with  the  20th  Infantry  Division, 
commencing  with  the  15th  Infantry  Division. 

In  my  opinion  the  Army  Corps  could  be  replaced  by 
Bulgarians,  whose  task  is  unquestionably  being  lightened 
through  the  despatch  of  troops  (British)  to  Egypt. 

Should  this  not  be  the  case,  I  would  be  ready  to  exchange 
two  divisions  from  the  Vth  Army  for  the  two  infantry  divi- 
sions of  the  Vlth  Army  Corps,  as  the  former  are  only  suited 
for  a  war  of  position,  and  would  have  to  be  made  mobile 
by  the  allotment  of  transport  and  equipment. 

If  these  two  infantry  divisions  were  given  up,  the  Vth 
Army  would  have  only  five  infantry  divisions  of  no  great 
fighting  value,  a  condition  of  things  which  is  perhaps  not 
very  desirable. 

For  the  moment  my  decision  is  :  Defence  of  Syria  by 
strengthening  that  front  by  one  infantry  division,  and 
prosecution  of  the  Yilderim  scheme. 

Should  good  prospects  offer  of  beating  the  British  de- 
cisively in  Syria  before  they  have  been  reinforced  I  will  take 
up  General  von  Falkenhayn's  proposal  again,  as  far  as  it 
appears  possible  to  carry  it  out,  having  in  view  the  question 
of  transport  and  rationing,  which  still  has  to  be  settled  in 
some  respects. — Turkish  Main  Headquarters,  Enveb. 


APPENDICES  269 


II 

Von  Falkenhayn  despatched  the  following  telegram 
from  Constantinople  on  August  25,  1917,  to  German 
General  Headquarters  : 

The  possibility  of  a  British  attack  in  Syria  has  had  to 
be  taken  into  consideration  from  the  beginning.  Its  re- 
percussion on  the  Irak  undertaking  was  obvious.  On  that 
account  I  had  already  settled  in  my  conversations  in  Con- 
stantinople during  May  that,  if  the  centre  of  gravity  of 
operations  were  transferred  to  the  Sinai  Front,  command 
should  be  given  me  there  too.  The  news  now  to  hand — 
reinforcement  of  the  British  troops  in  Egypt,  taking  over 
of  command  by  Allenby,  the  demands  of  the  British  Press 
daily  becoming  louder — makes  the  preparation  of  a  British 
attack  in  Syria  probable. 

Jemal  Pasha  wishes  to  meet  it  with  a  defensive.  To 
that  end  he  demands  the  divisions  and  war  material  which 
^  were  being  collected  about  Aleppo  for  Yilderim.  The 
natural  result  of  granting  this  request  will  be  that  true 
safety  will  never  be  attained  on  the  Sinai  Front  by  a  pure 
defensive,  and  that  the  Irak  undertaking  will  certainly 
fritter  away  owing  to  want  of  driving  power  or  to  delays. 

I  had  consequently  proposed  to  the  Turkish  Higher 
Command  to  send  two  divisions  and  the  '  Asia  '  Corps  as 
quickly  as  possible  to  Southern  Syria,  so  as  to  carry  out 
a  surprise  attack  on  the  British  by  means  of  an  encircling 
movement  before  the  arrival  of  their  reinforcements.  Rail- 
ways allow  of  the  assembly  of  these  forces  (inclusive  of  heavy 
artiUery,  material  and  technical  stores)  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Beersheba  by  the  end  of  October.  The  disposable  parts 
of  the  rVth  Army  (two  to  three  divisions)  would  be  added 
to  it. 

In  a  discussion  between  Enver,  Jemal,  and  myself,  Enver 
decided  first  of  all  to  strengthen  the  IVth  Army  by  the 
inclusion  of  one  division  from  the  Army  Group.  This 
division  would  suffice  to  ward  off  attack.     The  Irak  under- 


270  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

taking  could  be  carried  through  at  the  same  time.  Judging 
from  all  former  experiences  I  am  firmly  convinced  as  soon 
as  it  comes  to  a  question  of  the  expected  attack  on  the 
Sinai  Front,  or  even  if  the  IVth  Army  only  feels  itself  seriously 
threatened,  further  troops,  munitions,  and  material  will  be 
withdrawn  from  the  Army  Group,  and  Turkey's  forces  will 
be  shattered. 

Then  nothing  decisive  can  be  undertaken  in  either  theatre 
of  war.  The  sacrifice  of  men,  money,  and  material  which 
Germany  is  offering  at  the  present  moment  will  be  in  vain. 

The  treatment  of  the  question  is  rendered  all  the  more 
difficult  because  I  cannot  rid  myself  of  the  impression  that 
the  decision  of  the  Turkish  Higher  Command  is  based  far 
less  on  military  exigencies  than  on  personal  motives.  It 
is  dictated  with  one  eye  on  the  mighty  Jemal,  who  deprecates 
a  definite  decision,  but  yet  on  the  other  hand  opposes  the 
slightest  diminution  of  the  area  of  his  command. 

Consequently  as  the  position  now  stands,  I  consider  the 
Irak  undertaking  practicable  only  if  it  is  given  the  necessary 
freedom  for  retirement  through  the  removal  of  the  danger 
on  the  Syrian  Front.  The  removal  of  this  danger  I  regard 
as  only  possible  through  attack.  v.  Falkenhayn. 


APPENDICES  271 


III 


Here  is  another  Grerman  estimate  of  the  position 
created  by  our  War  Cabinet's  decision  to  take  the 
offensive  in  Palestine,  and  in  considering  the  view 
of  the  Grerman  Staff  and  the  prospect  of  success  any 
Turkish  attack  would  have,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances  the 
enemy  could  not  have  been  in  position  for  taking  an 
offensive  before  the  end  of  October.  Von  Falkenhayn 
wished  to  attack  the  British  '  before  the  arrival  of 
their  reinforcements.'  Not  only  had  our  reinforce- 
ments arrived  before  the  end  of  October,  but  they 
were  all  in  position  and  the  battle  had  commenced. 
Beersheba  was  taken  on  October  31.  This  apprecia- 
tion was  written  by  Major  von  Papen  of  Yilderim 
headquarters  on  August  28,  1917  : 

Enver's  objections,  the  improbability  of  attaining  a 
decisive  result  on  the  Sinai  Front  with  two  divisions  plus 
the  '  Asia  Corps  '  and  the  difficulty  of  the  Aleppo -Rayak 
transport  question,  hold  good. 

The  execution  of  the  offensive  with  stronger  forces  is 
desirable,  but  is  not  practicable,  as,  in  consequence  of  the 
beginning  of  the  rainy  weather  in  the  middle  of  November, 
the  British  offensive  may  be  expected  at  the  latest  during 
the  latter  half  of  October  ;  ours  therefore  should  take  place 
during  the  first  part  of  that  month. 

The  transport  question  precludes  the  assembly  of  stronger 
forces  by  that  date. 

Should  the  idea  of  an  offensive  be  abandoned  altogether 
on  that  account  ? 

On  the  assumption  that  General  AUenby — after  the  two 
unsuccessful  British  attacks — ^will  attack  only  with  a  marked 
superiority  of  men  and  munitions,  a  passive  defence  on  a 
thirty-five  kilometre  front  with  an  exposed  flank  does  not 
appear  to  offer  any  great  chance  of  success. 


272  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

The  conditions  on  the  Western  Front  (defensire  zone, 
attack  divisions)  are  only  partially  applicable  here,  since 
the  mobility  of  the  artillery  and  the  correct  tactical  handling 
of  the  attack  division  are  not  assured.  The  intended  passive 
defensive  will  not  be  improved  by  the  theatrical  attack  with 
one  division  suggested  by  General  von  Kress. 

On  the  contrary  this  attack  would  be  without  result,  as 
it  would  be  carried  out  too  obliquely  to  the  front,  and  would 
only  mean  a  sacrifice  of  men  and  material. 

The  attack  proposed  by  His  Excellency  for  the  envelop- 
ment of  the  enemy's  flank — ^if  carried  out  during  the  first 
half  of  October  with  four  divisions  plus  the  '  Asia  Corps  ' — 
will  perhaps  have  no  definite  result,  but  will  at  all  events 
result  in  this  :  that  the  Gaza  Front  flanked  by  the  sea 
will  tie  down  considerable  forces  and  defer  the  continuation 
of  British  operations  in  the  wet  season,  during  which,  in 
the  opinion  of  General  von  Kress,  they  cannot  be  carried 
on  with  any  prospect  of  success. 

The  situation  on  the  Sinai  Front  will  then  be  clear.  Natur- 
ally it  is  possible  that  the  position  here  may  demand  the 
inclusion  of  further  effectives  and  the  Yilderim  operation 
consequently  become  impracticable.  This,  however,  will 
only  prove  that  the  determining  factor  of  the  decisive  opera- 
tion for  Turkey  during  the  winter  of  1917-1918  lies  in  Pales- 
tine and  not  in  Mesopotamia.  An  offensive  on  the  Sinai 
Front  is  therefore — even  with  reduced  forces  and  a  limited 
objective — ^the  correct  solution.  Papen. 


APPENDICES  273 


IV 


Letter  from  General  Kress  von  Kressenstein  to  YiU 
derim  headquarters,  dated  September  29,  1917,  on 
moral  of  Turkish  troops, 

A  question  which  urgently  needs  regulating  is  that  of 
deserters.  According  to  my  experience  their  number  will 
increase  still  more  with  the  setting  in  of  the  bad  weather 
and  the  deterioration  of  rations. 

Civil  administration  and  the  gendarmerie  fail  entirely  ; 
they  often  have  a  secret  understanding  with  the  population 
and  are  open  to  bribery. 

The  cordon  drawn  by  me  is  too  weak  to  prevent  desertion. 
I  am  also  too  short  of  troops  to  have  the  necessary  raids 
undertaken  in  the  hinterland.  It  is  necessary  that  the 
hunt  for  deserters  in  the  area  between  the  front  and  the  line 
Jerusalem -Ramleh -Jaffa  be  formally  organised  under  ener- 
getic management,  that  one  or  two  squadrons  exclusively 
for  this  service  be  detailed,  and  that  a  definite  reward  be 
paid  for  bringing  in  each  deserter.  But  above  all  it  is 
necessary  that  punishment  should  follow  in  consequence, 
and  that  the  unfortunately  very  frequent  amnesties  of  His 
Majesty  the  Sultan  be  discontinued,  at  least  for  some  time. 

The  question  of  rationing  has  not  been  settled.  We  are 
living  continually  from  hand  to  mouth.  Despite  the  binding 
promises  of  the  Headquarters  IVth  Army,  the  VaU  of  Dam- 
ascus, the  Lines  of  Communication,  Major  Bathmann  and 
others,  that  from  now  on  150  tons  of  rations  should  arrive 
regularly  each  day,  from  the  24th  to  the  27th  of  this  month, 
for  example  a  total  of  229  tons  or  only  75  tons  per  diem 
have  arrived. 

I  cannot  fix  the  blame  for  these  irregularities.  The  Head- 
quarters rVth  Army  has  received  the  highly  gratifying 
order  that,  at  least  up  to  the  imminent  decisive  battle,  the 
bread  ration  is  raised  to  100  grammes.  This  urgently 
necessary  improvement  of  the  men's  rations  remains  illusory, 

s 


274  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

if  a  correspondingly  larger  quantity  of  flour  (about  ont 
wagon  per  day)  is  not  supplied  to  us.  So  far  the  improve- 
ment exists  only  on  paper.  The  condition  of  the  animals 
particularly  gives  cause  for  anxiety.  Not  only  are  we  about 
6000  animals  short  of  establishment,  but  as  a  result  of  ex- 
haustion a  considerable  number  of  animals  are  ruined  daily. 
The  majority  of  divisions  are  incapable  of  operating  on 
account  of  this  shortage  of  animals.  The  ammunition 
supply  too  is  gradually  coming  into  question  on  account  of 
the  deficiency  in  animals.  The  menacing  danger  can  only 
be  met  by  a  regular  supply  of  sufficient  fodder.  The  stock 
of  straw  in  the  area  of  operations  is  exhausted.  With  gold 
some  barley  can  still  be  bought  in  the  country. 

Every  year  during  the  rainy  season  the  railway  is  inter- 
rupted again  and  again  for  periods  of  from  eight  to  fourteen 
days.  There  are  also  days  and  weeks  in  which  the  motor- 
lorry  traffic  has  to  be  suspended.  Finally  we  must  calculate 
on  the  possibility  of  an  interruption  of  our  rear  communica- 
tions by  the  enemy.  I  therefore  consider  it  absolutely 
necessary  that  at  least  a  fourteen  days'  reserve  of  rations 
be  deposited  in  the  depots  at  the  front  as  early  as 
possible. 

The  increase  of  troops  on  the  Sinai  Front  necessitates  a 
very  considerable  increase  on  the  supply  of  meat  from  the 
Line  of  Communication  area,  Damascus  district. 


APPENDICES 


275 


The  troops  of  General  Allenby's  Army  before  the 
attack  on  Beersheba  were  distributed  as  follows  : 


29th  Brigade. 

6th  R.  Irish  Rifles. 
5th  Con.  Rangers. 
6th  Leinsters. 
1st  Leinsters 


XXth  corps. 
10th  Division. 

SOth  Brigade. 

1st  R.  Irish  Regt. 
6th  R.  Munst.  Fus. 
6thR.DubHnFus. 
TthR.DubUnFus. 


31s^  Brigade. 

5th  R.  InniskilUngs. 
6th  R.  Inniskillings. 
2nd  R.  Irish  Fus. 
5th  R.  Irish  Rifles. 


l5Sth  Brigade. 

l/5th  R.Welsh  Fus. 

l/6th 

l/7th 

1 /1st  Hereford. 


53rd  Division. 

1 59th  Brigade. 

l/4thCheshires. 
l/7th 

l/4th  Welsh 
I/5th      „ 


I60th  Brigade. 
l/4th  R.Sussex. 
2/4th  R.  West  Surrey. 
2/4th  R.  West  Kent. 
2/lOth  Middlesex. 


11 9th  Brigade. 

2/13th  London. 
2/14th 
2/15th 
2/16th 


60th   Division. 

ISOth  Brigade. 

2/1 7th  London. 
2/1 8th 
2/19th 
2/20th 


181s^  Brigade. 

2/21st  London. 

2/22nd       „ 
2/23rd 
2/24th        „ 


229th  Brigade. 

16th  Devons  (1st 
Devon  &  R.  N. 
Devon  Yeo.). 

12th  Somerset  L.I. 
(Yeo.). 


74th  Division. 

230th  Brigade. 
10th  E.  Kent  (R.  E. 

Kent  &  W.  Kent 

Yeo.). 
16th R.Sussex  (Yeo.). 


2315^  Brigade. 
10th  Shrop.  (Shrop. 
&  Cheshire  Yeo.). 

24th  R.  Welsh  Fus. 
(Denbigh  Yeo.). 


276 


HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 


74:th  Division  (continued). 


22dth  Brigade. 

230/ A  Brigade. 

2315/  Brigade. 

14thR.Highrs.(Fife 

15th  Suffolk  (Yeo.). 

25th  R.  Welsh  Fua. 

&  Forfar  Yeo.). 

(Montgomery  Yeo 
&  Welsh  Horse). 

12th  R.  Scots  Fus. 

12th  Norfolk  (Yeo.) 

.    24th  Welsh  Regt. 

(Ayr   &    Lanark 

(Pembroke  &  Gla- 

Yeo.). 

XXIsT  CORPS. 

morgan  Yeo.). 

52nd  (Lowland)  Division. 

155^^  Brigade. 

156//i  Brigade. 

157/;*  Brigade. 

l/4th  R.  Scots  Fus. 

l/4th  Royal  Scots. 

l/5th  H.L.I. 

l/5th 

l/7th 

l/6th        „ 

l/4th  K.O.S.B. 

l/7th  Scot.  Rifles. 

l/7th        „ 

l/5th 

l/8th 

l/5th  A.  &  S.  Highrs. 

54th  (East  Anglian)  Division. 

I6l8t  Brigade. 

lQ2nd  Brigade. 

l6Srd  Brigade. 

l/4th  Essex. 

l/5th  Bedfords. 

l/4th  Norfolk. 

l/5th      „ 

l/4th  Northants. 

l/5th 

l/6th      „ 

1/lOth  London. 

l/5th  Suffolk. 

l/7th      „ 

1/llth        „ 

75th  Division. 

l/8th  Hampshire. 

232nd  Brigade. 

233rd  Brigade. 

234/71  Brigade. 

l/5th  Devon.     * 

l/5th  Somersets. 

l/4th  D.C.L.I. 

2/5th  Hampshire. 

l/4th  Wilts. 

2/4th  Dorsets. 

2 /4th  Somersets. 

2 /4th  Hampshire. 

123rd  Rifles. 

2/3rd  Gurkhas. 

3/3rd  Gurkhas. 

58th       „ 

IstA.L.H.Bde. 

1st  A.L.H.  Regt. 

2nd 

3rd 


DESERT  MOUNTED  CORPS. 

Anzac  Mounted  Division. 
2nd  A.L.H.  Bde.         N.Z,  Mtd.  Rifles  Bde. 

5th  A.L.H.  Regt.        Auckland  M.  Rifles. 
„  Canterbury  M.  Rifles. 

„  Welhngton  M.  Rifles. 


6th 
7th 


APPENDICES 


277 


Australian  Mounted  Division. 

3rd  L.H.  Brigade.        4ih  L.H.  Brigade.  5th  Mtd.  Brigade. 

8th  A.L.H.  Regt.        4th  A.L.H.  Regt.         1/lst  Warwick  Yeo. 


9th 
10th 


nth 

12th 


l/lst  Gloucester  Yeo. 
1/lst  Worcester  Yeo. 


Yeomanry  Mounted  Division. 

Ml  Mtd.  Brigade.  Sth  Mtd.  Brigade.        22nd  Mtd.  Brigade 

1/lst  City  of  London 


1/lst  Bucks  Hussars. 
1/lst  Berkshire  Yeo. 
1/lst  Dorset  Yeo. 


Yeo. 
1/lst  Co.  of  London 

Yeo. 
l/3rd  Co.  of  London 

Yeo. 


1/lst  Lincolnshire 

Yeo. 
1/lst  Staffordshire 

Yeo. 
1/lst  E.  Riding 

Yeo. 


7th  Mounted  Brigade  (attached  Desert  Corps). 
1/lst  Sherwood  Rangers.  1/lst  South  Notts  Hussars. 


Imperial  Camel  Brigade. 


278  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 


VI 

There  can  be  no  better  illustration  of  how  one 
battle  worked  out  '  according  to  plan '  than  the 
quotation  of  the  following  Force  Order : 

FORCE  ORDER 

General  Headquabtees, 
22nd  October  1917. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  take  the 
offensive  against  the  enemy  at  Gaza  and  at  Beersheba,  and 
when  Beersheba  is  in  our  hands  to  make  an  enveloping 
attack  on  the  enemy's  left  flank  in  the  direction  of  Sheria 
and  Hareira. 

On  Zero  day  XXth  Corps  with  the  10th  Division  and 
Imperial  Camel  Brigade  attached  and  the  Desert  Mounted 
Corps  less  one  Mounted  Division  and  the  Imperial  Camel 
Brigade  will  attack  the  enemy  at  Beersheba  with  the  object 
of  gaining  possession  of  that  place  by  nightfall. 

As  soon  as  Beersheba  is  in  our  hands  and  the  necessary 
arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Beersheba  water  supply,  XXth  Corps  and  Desert  Mounted 
Corps  complete  will  move  rapidly  forward  to  attack  the 
left  of  the  enemy's  main  position  with  the  object  of  driving 
him  out  of  Sheria  and  Hareira  and  enveloping  the  left  flank 
of  his  army.  XXth  Corps  will  move  against  the  enemy's 
defences  south  of  Sheria,  first  of  all  against  the  Kauwukah 
line  and  then  against  Sheria  and  the  Hareira  defences. 
Desert  Mounted  Corps  calling  up  the  Mounted  Division  left 
in  general  reserve  during  the  Beersheba  operation  will  move 
north  of  the  XXth  Corps  to  gain  possession  of  Nejile  and  of 
any  water  supplies  between  that  place  and  the  right  of 
XXth  Corps  and  will  be  prepared  to  operate  vigorously 
against  and  round  the  enemy's  left  flank  if  he  should  throw 
it  back  to  oppose  the  advance  of  the  XXth  Corps. 

On  a  date  to  be  subsequently  determined  and  which  will 
probably  be  after  the  occupation  of  Beersheba  and  24  to 


APPENDICES  279 

48  hours  before  the  attack  of  XXth  Corps  on  the  ELauwukah 
line,  the  XXlst  Corps  will  attack  the  south-west  defences 
of  Gaza  with  the  object  of  capturing  the  enemy's  front-Une 
system  from  Umbrella  Hill  to  Sheikh  Hasan,  both  inclusive. 

The  Royal  Navy  will  co-operate  with  the  XXIst  Corps 
in  the  attack  on  Gaza  and  in  any  subsequent  operations 
that  may  be  undertaken  by  XXIst  Corps. 

On  Z— 4  day  the  G.O.C.  XXIst  Corps  will  open  a  systematic 
bombardment  of  the  Gaza  defences,  increasing  in  volume 
from  Z— 1  day  to  Zx2  day  and  to  be  continued  until  Zx4 
day  at  the  least. 

The  Royal  Navy  will  co-operate  as  follows  :  On  Z— 1  and 
Zero  days  two  6-inch  monitors  will  be  available  for  bom- 
bardment from  the  sea,  special  objective  Sheikh  Hasan. 
On  Zero  day  a  third  6-inch  monitor  will  be  available  so  that 
two  of  these  ships  may  be  constantly  in  action  while  one 
replenishes  ammunition.  On  Zxl  day  6-inch  monitors  will 
discontinue  their  bombardment  which  they  will  reopen 
on  Zx2  day.  From  Zxl  day  the  French  battleship  Requin 
and  H.M.S.  Raglan  will  bombard  Deir  Sineid  station  and 
junction  for  Huj,  the  roads  and  railway  bridges  and  camps 
on  the  wadi  Hesi  and  the  neighbourhood.  The  Requin  and 
Raglan  will  be  assisted  by  a  seaplane  carrier. 

From  Zero  day  one  9-2  monitor  will  be  available  from 
dawn,  special  objective  Sheikh  Redwan. 

From  Z— 1  day  inclusive  demands  for  naval  co-operation 
will  be  conveyed  direct  from  G.O.C.  XXIst  Corps  to  the 
Senior  Naval  Officer,  Marine  View,  who  will  arrange  for 
the  transmission  of  the  demands  so  made. 

XXth  Corps  will  move  into  position  during  the  night  of 
Z— l=Zero  day  so  as  to  attack  the  enemy  at  Beersheba  on 
Zero  day  south  of  the  wadi  Saba  with  two  divisions  while 
covering  his  flank  and  the  construction  of  the  railway 
east  of  Shellal  with  one  division  on  the  high  ground  over- 
looking the  wadis  E[l  Sufi  and  Hanafish.  The  objective  of 
XXth  Corps  will  be  the  enemy's  works  west  and  south- 
west of  Beersheba  as  far  as  the  Khalasa-Beersheba  road 
inclusive. 

Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  move  on  the  night  of  Z— l"«Zero 


280  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

day  from  the  area  of  concentration  about  Klhalasa  and 
Asluj  so  as  to  co-operate  with  XXth  Corps  by  attacking 
Beersheba  with  two  divisions  and  one  mounted  brigade. 
The  objective  of  Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  be  the  enemy's 
defences  from  south-east  to  the  north-east  of  Beersheba 
and  the  town  of  Beersheba  itself. 

The  G.O.C.  Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  endeavour  to 
turn  the  enemy's  left  with  a  view  to  breaking  down  his 
resistance  at  Beersheba  as  quickly  as  possible.  With  this 
in  view  the  main  weight  of  his  force  will  be  directed  against 
Beersheba  from  the  east  and  north-east.  As  soon  as  the 
enemy's  resistance  shows  signs  of  weakening  the  G.O.C. 
Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  be  prepared  to  act  with  the  utmost 
vigour  against  his  retreating  troops  so  as  to  prevent  their 
escape,  or  at  least  to  drive  them  well  beyond  the  high  ground 
immediately  overlooking  the  town  from  the  north.  He 
will  also  be  prepared  to  push  troops  rapidly  into  Beersheba 
in  order  to  protect  from  danger  any  wells  and  plant  connected 
with  the  water  supply  not  damaged  by  the  enemy  before 
Beersheba  is  entered. 

The  Yeomanry  Mounted  Division  will  pass  from  the 
command  of  the  G.O.C.  XXth  Corps  at  five  on  Zero  day 
and  will  come  directly  under  General  Headquarters  as  part 
of  the  general  reserve  in  the  hands  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief. 

When  Beersheba  has  been  taken  the  G.O.C.  XXth  Corps 
will  push  forward  covering  troops  to  the  high  ground  north 
of  the  town  to  protect  it  from  any  counter  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  enemy.  He  will  also  put  in  hand  the  restora- 
tion of  the  water  supply  in  Beersheba.  The  G.O.C.  Desert 
Mounted  Corps  will  be  responsible  for  the  protection  of 
the  town  from  the  north-east  and  east. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  taking  of  Beersheba  the 
G.O.C.  Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  report  to  G.H.Q.  on  the 
water  supplies  in  the  wells  and  wadis  east  of  Beersheba  and 
especially  along  the  wadi  Saba  and  the  Beersheba-Tel-el- 
Nulah  road.  If  insufi&cient  water  is  found  to  exist  in  this 
area  G.O.C.  Desert  Mounted  Corps  will  send  back  such  of 
his  troops  as  may  be  necessary  to  watering  places  from  which 


APPENDICES  281 

he  started  or  which  may  be  found  in  the  country  east  of 
the  KJialasa-Beersheba  road  during  the  operations. 

A  preUminary  survey  having  been  made,  the  G.O.C.  XXth 
Corps  will  report  by  wire  to  G.H.Q.  on  the  condition  of  the 
wells  and  water  supply  generally  in  Beersheba  and  on  any 
water  supplies  found  west  and  north-west  of  that  place. 
He  will  telegraph  an  estimate  as  soon  as  it  can  be  made 
of  the  time  required  to  place  the  Beersheba  water  supply 
in  working  order. 

When  the  situation  as  regards  water  at  Beersheba  has 
become  clear  so  that  the  movement  of  XXth  Corps  and 
Desert  Mounted  Corps  against  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy's 
main  position  can  be  arranged,  the  G.O.C.  XXIst  Corps 
will  be  ordered  to  attack  the  enemy's  defences  south-west 
of  Gaza  in  time  for  this  operation  to  be  carried  out  prior 
to  the  attack  of  XXth  Corps  on  the  Kauwukah  line  of  works. 
The  objective  of  XXIst  Corps  will  be  the  defences  of  Gaza 
from  Umbrella  Hill  inclusive  to  the  sea  about  Sheikh  Hasan. 

Instructions  in  regard  to  the  following  have  been  issued 
separate  to  all  corps  : 

Amount  of  corps  artillery  allotted. 

Amount  of  ammunition  put  on  corps  charge  prior  to  opera- 
tions. 

Amount  of  ammunition  per  gun  that  will  be  delivered  daily 
at  respective  railheads  and  the  day  of  commencement. 

Amount  of  transport  allotted  for  forward  supply  from 
railheads. 

The  general  average  for  one  day's  firing  has  been  calculated 
on  the  following  basis  : 

Field    and    mountain    guns     and 

mountain  howitzers       .        .        .150  rounds  per  gun. 
4* 5-inch  howitzers    .  .        .        .120  rounds  per  gun. 

60-pounders  and  6-inch  howitzers  .       90  rounds  per  gun. 
8-inch  howitzers  and  6-inch  Mark  VII.     60  rounds  per  gun. 

This  average  expenditure  will  only  be  possible  in  the 
XXIst  Corps  up  to  Z  X  1 6  day  and  for  the  Desert  Mounted 
Corps  and  XXth  Corps  to  Zxl3.    After  these  dates  if  the 


282  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

average  has  been  expended  the  daily  average  will  have  to 
drop  to  the  basis  of  100  rounds  per  18-pounder  per  day  and 
other  natures  in  proportion. 

Aircraft,  Army  Weno. — Strategical  reconnaissance  in- 
cluding the  reconnaissance  of  areas  beyond  the  tactical  zone 
and  in  which  the  enemy's  main  reserves  are  located,  also 
distant  photography  and  aerial  offensive,  will  be  carried  out 
by  an  Army  squadron  under  instructions  issued  direct  from 
G.H.Q.  Protection  from  hostile  aircraft  will  be  the  main 
duty  of  the  Army  fighting  squadron.  A  bombing  squadron 
will  be  held  in  readiness  for  any  aerial  offensive  which  the 
situation  may  render  desirable. 

Corps  Squadrons. — Two  Corps  squadrons  will  under- 
take artillery  co-operation,  contact  patrols,  and  tactical  recon- 
naissance for  the  Corps  to  which  they  are  attached.  In  the 
case  of  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps  one  flight  from  the  Corps 
squadron  attached  to  XXth  Corps  will  be  responsible  for 
the  above  work.  Photography  of  trench  areas  will  normally 
be  carried  out  daily  by  the  Army  Wing. 


APPENDICES  283 


VII 

ORDERS  FOR  THE  OFFICIAL  ENTRY  INTO 
JERUSALEM 

1.  The  Commander-in-Chief  will  enter  Jerusalem  by  the 
Bab-el-Elhalil  (Jaffa  Gate)  at  12  noon,  11th  December  1917. 
The  order  of  procession  is  shown  below  : 

Two  Aides-de-camp. 
(Twenty  paces.) 
O.C.  Italian  Palestine      Commander -in-     O.C.  French  Pales- 
Contingent  (Col.  Chief.  tine    Contingent 
Dagostino).  (Col.  Piepape). 

Staff  Officer.  Two  Staff  Officers.  Staff  Officer. 

(Ten  paces.) 

M.  Picot  (Head  of  French  Mission). 

French  Mil.       Brig. -Gen.       Italian  Mil.  Att.       American 

Att.  (Capt.         Clayton.  (Major  Caccia).         Mil.  Att. 

St.  Quentin).  (Col.  Davis). 

(Five  paces.) 

Chief  of  General  Staff  (Maj.-Gen.  Su^  L.  J.  Bols). 

Brig. -General  Greneral  Staff  (Brig. -Gen.  G.  Dawnay). 

(Five  paces.) 

G.O.C.  XXth  Corps,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Philip  W.  Chetwode, 

Bart.,  D.S.O. 

Staff  Officer.  Brig. -Gen.  Bartholomew. 

(Ten  paces.) 
British  Guard. 

AustraHan  and  New  Zealand  Guard. 
French  Guard. 
Italian  Guard. 

2.  GuAEDS. — The   following .  guards   will    be    found    by 

XXth  Corps  : 

Outside  the  Gate — 

British  Guard  :  Fifty  of  all  ranks,  including  English, 
Scottish,  Irish,  and  Welsh  troops. 


284  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

Australian  and  New  Zealand  Guard  :  Fifty  of  all 
ranks,  including  twenty  New  Zealand  troops. 
These  guards  will  be  drawn  up  facing  each  other, 
the  right  flank  of  the  British  guard  and  the 
left  flank  Australian  guard  resting  on  the  City 
Wall.  The  O.C.  British  guard  will  be  in  'com- 
mand of  both  guards  and  will  give  the  words 
of  command. 

Inside  the  Gate — 

French  Guard  :  Twenty  of  all  ranks. 
Itahan  Guard  :  Twenty  of  all  ranks. 

These  guards  will  be  drawn  up  facing  each  other, 
the  left  flank  of  the  French  guard  and  the  right 
flank  of  the  Italian  guard  resting  on  the  City 
WaU. 

3.  Salute. — On  the  approach  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  guards  will  come  to  the  Salute  and  present  arms. 

4.  The  MiHtary  Governor  of  the  City  will  meet  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief at  the  Gate  at  12  noon. 

5.  Route. — The  procession  will  proceed  via  Sueikat  Allah 
and  El  Maukaf  Streets  to  the  steps  of  El  Kala  (Citadel), 
where  the  notables  of  the  City  under  the  guidance  of  a  Staff 
Ofi&cer  of  the  Governor  will  meet  the  Commander-in-Chief 
and  the  Proclamation  will  be  read  to  the  citizens.  The 
British,  Australian  and  New  Zealand,  French  and  Itahan 
guards  will,  when  the  procession  has  passed  them,  take  their 
place  in  column  of  fours  in  the  rear  of  the  procession  in  that 
order. 

On  arrival  at  El  Kala  the  guards  will  form  up  facing  steps 
on  the  opposite  {i.e.  east)  side  of  El  Maukaf  Street,  the  British 
guard  being  thus  on  the  left,  Italian  guard  on  the  right  of 
the  line,  and  remain  at  the  slope.  The  British  and  Italian 
guards  will  bring  up  their  left  and  right  flanks  respectively 
across  the  street  south  and  north  of  El  Kala. 

On  leaving  the  Citadel  the  procession  will  proceed  in  the 
same  order  as  before  to  the  Barrack  Square,  where  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief will  confer  with  the  notables  of  the  City. 


APPENDICES  285 

On  entering  the  Barrack  Square  the  guards  will  wheel  to 
the  left  and,  keeping  the  left-hand  man  of  each  section  of 
fours  next  the  side  of  the  Barrack  Square,  march  round  until 
the  rear  of  the  ItaHan  guard  has  entered  the  Square,  when 
the  guards  will  halt,  right  turn  (so  as  to  face  the  centre  of  the 
Square),  and  remain  at  the  slope. 

The  procession  will  leave  the  City  by  the  same  route  as  it 
entered  and  in  the  same  order. 

As  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  procession  move  off  to 
leave  the  Barrack  Square  the  guards  will  present  arms,  and 
then  move  off  and  resume  their  places  in  the  procession, 
the  British  guard  leading. 

On  arrival  at  the  Jaffa  Gate  the  guards  will  take  up  their 
original  positions,  and  on  the  Commander-in-Chief's  de- 
parture will  be  marched  away  under  the  orders  of  the  G.O.C. 
XXth  Corps. 

6.  Police,  etc. — The  Military  Governor  of  the  City  will 
arrange  for  policing  the  route  of  the  procession  and  for  the 
searching  of  houses  on  either  side  of  the  route.  He  will  also 
arrange  for  civil  officials  to  read  the  Proclamation  at 
El  Kala. 


286  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 


vni 

The  Proclamation  read  from  the  steps  of  David's 
Tower  on  the  occasion  of  the  Commander-in-Chief's 
Official  Entry  into  Jerusalem  was  in  these  terms  : 

To  the  inhabitants    of    Jerusalem    the    Blessed  and  the 
people  dwelling  in  its  vicinity  : 

The  defeat  inflicted  upon  the  Turks  by  the  troops  under 
my  command  has  resulted  in  the  occupation  of  your  City 
by  my  forces.  I  therefore  here  and  now  proclaim  it  to  be 
under  martial  law,  under  which  form  of  administration  it 
will  remain  as  long  as  military  considerations  make  it 
necessary. 

However,  lest  any  of  you  should  be  alarmed  by  reason  of 
your  experiences  at  the  hands  of  the  enemy  who  has  retired, 
I  hereby  inform  you  that  it  is  my  desire  that  every  person 
should  pursue  his  lawful  business  without  fear  of  interruption. 
Furthermore,  since  your  City  is  regarded  with  affection  by 
the  adherents  of  three  of  the  great  rehgions  of  mankind,  and 
its  soil  has  been  consecrated  by  the  prayers  and  pilgrimages 
of  multitudes  of  devout  people  of  those  three  religions  for 
many  centuries,  therefore  do  I  make  it  known  to  you  that 
every  sacred  building,  monument,  holy  spot,  shrine,  tradi- 
tional site,  endowment,  pious  bequest,  or  customary  place 
of  prayer,  of  whatsoever  form  of  the  three  rehgions,  will  be 
maintained  and  protected  according  to  the  existing  customs 
and  behefs  of  those  to  whose  faiths  they  are  sacred. 


APPENDICES  287 


IX 


No  story  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  would  be 
complete  without  the  tribute  paid  by  General  Allenby 
to  his  gallant  troops  of  all  arms.  The  Commander- 
in-Chief's  thanks,  which  were  conveyed  to  the  troops 
in  a  Special  Order  of  the  Day,  were  highly  appreciated 
by  all  ranks.     The  document  ran  as  follows  : 

SPECIAL  ORDER  OF  THE  DAY 

G.H.Q.,  E.E.F., 

I5th  December  1917. 

With  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  another  phase  of  the 
operations  of  the  Egyptian  Expeditionary  Force  has  been 
victoriously  concluded. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  desires  to  thank  all  ranks  of  all 
the  units  and  services  in  the  Force  for  the  magnificent  work 
which  has  been  accompHshed. 

In  forty  days  many  strong  Turkish  positions  have  been 
captured  and  the  Force  has  advanced  some  sixty  miles  on  a 
front  of  thirty  miles. 

The  skill,  gallantry,  and  determination  of  all  ranks  have 
led  to  this  result. 

1.  The  approach  marches  of  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps 
and  the  XXth  Corps  (lOth,  53rd,  60th,  and  74th  Divisions), 
followed  by  the  dashing  attacks  of  the  60th  and  74th  Divi- 
sions and  the  rapid  turning  movement  of  the  Desert  Mounted 
Corps,  ending  in  the  fine  charge  of  the  4th  AustraHan  Light 
Horse  Brigade,  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Beersheba  with 
many  prisoners  and  guns. 

2.  The  stubborn  resistance  of  the  53rd  Division,  units  of 
the  Desert  Mounted  Corps  and  Imperial  Camel  Brigade  in 
the  difficult  country  north-east  of  Beersheba  enabled  the 
preparations  of  the  XXth  Corps  to  be  completed  without 
interference,  and  enabled  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  carry 
out   his   plan   without   diverting   more   than  the   intended 


288  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 

number  of  troops  to  protect  the  right  flank,  despite  the  many 
and  strong  attacks  of  the  enemy. 

3.  The  attack  of  the  XXth  Corps  (10th,  60th,  and  74th 
Divisions),  prepared  with  great  skill  by  the  Corps  and  Divi- 
sional Commanders  and  carried  out  with  such  dash  and 
courage  by  the  troops,  resulted  in  the  turning  of  the  Turkish 
left  flank  and  in  an  advance  to  the  depth  of  nine  miles  through 
an  entrenched  position  defended  by  strong  forces. 

In  this  operation  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps,  covering  the 
right  flank  and  threatening  the  Turkish  rear,  forced  the 
Turks  to  begin  a  general  retreat  of  their  left  flank. 

4.  The  artiUery  attack  of  the  XXIst  Corps  and  of  the 
ships  of  the  Royal  Navy,  skilfully  arranged  and  carried  out 
with  great  accuracy,  caused  heavy  loss  to  the  enemy  in  the 
Gaza  sector  of  his  defences.  The  success  of  this  bombard- 
ment was  due  to  the  loyal  co-operation  of  the  Rear- Admiral 
S.N.O.  Egypt  and  Red  Sea,  and  the  officers  of  the  Royal 
Navy,  the  careful  preparation  of  plans  by  the  Rear- Admiral 
and  the  G.O.C.  XXIst  Corps,  and  the  good  shooting  of  the 
Royal  Navy,  and  of  the  heavy,  siege,  and  field  artillery  of 
the  XXIst  Corps. 

5.  The  two  attacks  on  the  strong  defences  of  Gaza,  carried 
out  by  the  52nd  and  54th  Divisions,  were  each  completely 
successful,  thanks  to  the  skill  with  which  they  were  thought 
out  and  prepared  by  the  G.O.C.  XXIst  Corps,  the  Divisional 
Commanders  and  the  Brigade  Commanders,  and  the  great 
gallantry  displayed  by  the  troops  who  carried  out  these 
attacks. 

6.  The  second  attack  resulted  in  the  evacuation  of  Gaza 
by  the  enemy  and  the  turning  of  his  right  flank.  The  52nd 
and  75th  Divisions  at  once  began  a  pursuit  which  carried 
them  in  three  weeks  from  Gaza  to  within  a  few  miles  of 
Jerusalem. 

7.  This  pursuit,  carried  out  by  the  Desert  Mounted  Corps 
and  these  two  Divisions  of  the  XXIst  Corps,  first  over  the 
sandhills  of  the  coast,  then  over  the  Plains  of  Palestine  and 
the  foothills,  and  finally  in  the  rocky  mountains  of  Judea, 
required  from  all  commanders  rapid  decisions  and  powers 
to  adapt  their  tactics  to  varying  conditions  of  ground.     The 


APPENDICES  289 

troops  were  called  upon  to  carry  out  very  long  marches  in 
great  heat  without  water,  to  make  attacks  on  stubborn 
rearguards  without  time  for  reconnaissance,  and  finally  to 
suffer  cold  and  privation  in  the  mountains. 

In  these  great  operations  Commanders  carried  out  their 
plans  with  boldness  and  determination,  and  the  troops  of  all 
arms  and  services  responded  with  a  devotion  and  gallantry 
beyond  praise. 

8.  The  final  operations  of  the  XXth  Corps  which  resulted 
in  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem  were  a  fitting  climax  to  the 
efforts  of  all  ranks. 

The  attack  skiKuUy  prepared  by  the  G.O.C.  XXth  Corps 
and  carried  out  with  precision,  endurance,  and  gallantry 
by  the  troops  of  the  53rd,  60th,  and  74th  Divisions,  over 
country  of  extreme  difficulty  in  wet  weather,  showed  skill 
in  leading  and  gallantry  and  determination  of  a  very  high 
order. 

9.  Throughout  the  operations  the  Royal  Flying  Corps 
have  rendered  valuable  assistance  to  all  arms  and  have 
obtained  complete  mastery  of  the  air.  The  information 
obtained  from  contact  and  reconnaissance  patrols  has  at 
all  times  enabled  Commanders  to  keep  in  close  touch  with 
the  situation.  In  the  pursuit  they  have  inflicted  severe 
loss  on  the  enemy,  and  their  artillery  co-operation  has  con- 
tributed in  no  small  measure  to  our  victory. 

10.  The  organisation  in  rear  of  the  fighting  forces  enabled 
these  forces  to  be  supplied  throughout.  All  supply  and 
ammimition  services  and  engineer  services  were  called  upon 
for  great  exertions.  The  response  everywhere  showed  great 
devotion  and  high  miHtary  spirit. 

11.  The  thorough  organisation  of  the  lines  of  communica- 
tion, and  the  energy  and  skill  with  which  all  the  services 
adapted  themselves  to  the  varying  conditions  of  the  opera- 
tions, ensured  the  constant  mobility  of  the  fighting 
troops. 

12.  The  Commander-in-Chief  appreciates  the  admirable 
conduct  of  all  the  transport  services,  and  particularly  the 
endurance  and  loyal  service  of  the  Camel  Transport  Corps. 

13.  The  skill  and  energy  by  which  the  Signal  Service  was 

T 


290  HOW  JERUSALEJM  WAS  WON 

maintained  under  all  conditions  reflects  the  greatest  credit 
on  all  concerned. 

14.  The  Medical  Service  was  able  to  adapt  itself  to  all 
the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  with  the  result  the  evacuation 
of  wounded  and  sick  was  carried  out  with  the  least  possible 
hardship  or  discomfort. 

15.  The  Veterinary  Service  worked  well  throughout ;  the 
wastage  in  animals  was  consequently  small  considering  the 
distances  traversed. 

16.  The  Ordnance  Service  never  failed  to  meet  all  demands. 

17.  The  work  of  the  Egyptian  Labour  Corps  has  been  of 
the  greatest  value  in  contributing  to  the  rapid  advance  of 
the  troops  and  in  overcoming  the  difficulties  of  the  com- 
munications. 

18.  The  Commander-in-Chief  desires  that  his  thanks  and 
appreciation  of  their  services  be  conveyed  to  all  officers  and 
men  of  the  force  which  he  has  the  honour  to  command. 

G.  Dawt^ay,  B.G.G.S., 

for  Major-General,  Chief  of  the  General 
Stafi,  E.E.F. 


APPENDICES  291 


X 

The  men  of  units  forming  the  XXth  Corps  were 
deeply  gratified  to  receive  this  commendation  from 
their  gallant  CoT-ps  Commander  : 

SPECIAL  ORDER  OF  THE  DAY 

BY 

Lieutenant-General  Sir  Philip  W.  Chetwode,  Bt., 
K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  commanding  XXth  Corps 

Headquabters,  XXth  Corps, 
\Uh  December  1917. 

Now  that  the  efforts  of  General  Sir  E.  H.  H.  Allenby's 
Aimy  have  been  crowned  by  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  I 
wish  to  express  to  all  ranks,  services,  and  departments  of  the 
XXth  Army  Corps  my  personal  thanks  and  my  admiration 
for  the  soldierly  qualities  they  have  displayed. 

I  have  served  as  a  regimental  officer  in  two  campaigns, 
and  no  one  knows  better  than  I  do  what  the  shortness  of 
food,  the  fatigue  of  operating  among  high  mountains,  and 
the  cold  and  wet  has  meant  to  the  fighting  troops.  But  in 
spite  of  it  all,  and  at  the  moment  when  the  weather  was 
at  its  worst,  they  responded  to  my  call  and  drove  the 
enemy  in  one  rush  through  his  last  defences  and  beyond 
Jerusalem. 

A  fine  performance,  and  I  am  intensely  proud  of  having 
had  the  honour  of  commanding  such  a  body  of  men. 

I  wish  to  give  special  praise  to  the  Divisional  Ammunition 
Columns,  Divisional  Trains  A.S.C.,  Supply  Services,  Mechani- 
cal Transport  personnel,  Camel  Transport  personnel,  and  to 
the  Royal  Army  Medical  Corps  and  all  services  whose  con- 
tinuous labour,  day  and  night,  almost  without  rest,  alone 
enabled  the  fighting  troops  to  do  what  they  did. 


292  HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 


SPECIAL  ORDER  OF  THE  DAY 

Headquabtkrs,  XXth  Corps, 
'31  St  DtoemJjer  1917. 

I  have  again  to  thank  the  XXth  Corps  and  to  express  to 
them  my  admiration  of  their  bravery  and  endurance  during 
the  three  days'  fighting  on  December  27,  28,  and  29. 

The  enemy  made  a  determined  attempt  with  two  corps 
to  retake  Jerusalem,  and  while  their  finest  assault  troops 
melted  away  before  the  staunch  defence  of  the  53rd  and 
60th  Divisions,  the  10th  and  74th  were  pressing  forward 
over  the  most  precipitous  country,  brushing  aside  all  op- 
position in  order  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  our  right. 

Their  efforts  were  quickly  successful,  and  by  the  evening 
of  the  27th  we  had  definitely  regained  the  initiative,  and 
I  was  able  to  order  a  general  advance. 

The  final  result  of  the  three  days'  fighting  was  a  gain  to 
us  of  many  miles  and  extremely  heavy  losses  to  the  enemy. 

A  fine  three  days'  work. 


INDEX 


Abu  Shushe,  121. 
Adaeeh,  216. 
Ain  Arik,  151. 

Karira,  1G2. 

Air  Force  honours,  261. 

Akir,  110. 

Allenby,  General,  10. 

administration,  12. 

American  Red  Cross  Society,  257. 
Arsuf,  235. 
Askalon,  104. 
Auja,  River,  232. 

Baker,  Colonel  Sir  Randolf,  116. 

Bald  HUl,  243. 

Barrow,   Major-General    G.    de    S., 

88. 
Bartholomew,       Brigadier-General, 

207. 
Bayley,  Colonel,  189. 
Beersheba,  Anzac  march  on,  61. 

battle  of,  53. 

German  preparations,  65. 

Beit  Hannina,  192. 

Iksa,  172. 

Izza,  145. 

Jala,  175. 

ur  el  Foka,  149. 

ur  et  Tahta,  150. 

Beitunia,  149. 

Bethany,  193. 

Beth-horons,  149. 

Bethlehem,  186. 

Biblical  battlefields,  8. 

Biddu,  145. 

Bireh,  151. 

Bols,  Major-General,  207. 

Borton,  Major-General,  206. 

Bulfin,  Lieutenant-General,  18. 

Bulteel,  Captain,  115. 


Burkah,  109. 

Butler,  Brigadier-General,  134. 

Chauvel,  Lieutenant -Greneral,  18. 
Chaytor,  Major-General,  61. 
Cheape,  Lieutenant-Colonel  H.,  91. 
Chetwode,    Lieutenant -Greneral    Sir 

P.,  18. 
thanks  to  XXth  Corps  troops, 

291. 
Clayton,  Brigadier-General,  207. 
Colston,  Brigadier-General,    109. 
Cox,  Brigadier-Greneral,  62. 
Cripps,  Colonel  Hon.  F.,  113. 

Dammers,  Captain,  116. 
Dawnay,  Brigadier-Greneral,  207. 
Deir  Sineid,  102. 

Yesin,  172. 

de  Rothschild,  Major,  117. 
Desert  railways,  35. 

pipeline,  38. 

Dukku,  145. 

Ektelf,  252. 
El  Jib,  145. 
El  Kala,  207. 
Enver,  199. 

Farah,  wadi,  249. 

Force     Order,     General     Allenby 's 

thanks  tc  troops,  287. 
Ful,  Tel  el,  192. 

Gaza,  plan  of  attack  on,  47. 

Ali  Muntar,  72. 

defences,  69. 

El  Arish  redoubt,  77. 

■  Great  Mosque,  68. 

•  naval  gunnery,  79. 

■  Outpost  Hill,  75. 

Sea  Post,  78. 

293 


294 


HOW  JERUSALEM  WAS  WON 


Gaza.  Sheikh  Hasan,  78. 

Umbrella  Hill,  77. 

German  Hospice,  143. 
Gilgal,   248. 

Girdwood,  Major-General,  59. 
Godwin,  Brigadier-General,   112. 
Good  Samaritan  Inn,  246. 
Grant,  Brigadier-General,   64. 

Hadrah,  157. 

Hanafish,  action  on  wadi,  54. 

Hebron,  187. 

Hill  1070,  58. 

Hill,  Major-General  J.,   141. 

Hodgson,  Major-General,  62. 

Hong  Kong  and  Singapore  battery, 

148. 
Huj,  91. 

Ibn  Obeid,  222. 

Imperial  Service  cavalry,  100. 

Jackson,  Admiral  T.,  244. 
Jaffa,  236. 

Gate,  198. 

Jebel  Kuruntul,  248. 
Jelil,  238. 
Jericho,  247. 
Jerisheh,  240. 
Jerusalem,  battle  of,  175. 

civil  administration,  258. 

Memorial  to  Army,  9. 

— —  Official  Entry,  195. 

order  of  procession,  283. 

Proclamation  to  people,  286. 

water  supply,  254. 

Jordan,  245. 

Jezar,  123. 

Junction  Station,  119. 

Katrah,  110. 
Kuntara,  34. 
Kauwukah,  84. 
Khurbet  Subr,  172. 
Khuweilfeh,  82. 
Kressenstein,  von,  64. 
Kulonieh,  172. 
Kuryet  el  Enab,  138. 
Kustul,  141. 

Latron,  129. 
Laweon,  Captain,  116. 


Lifta,  158. 

Longley,  Major-General,  218. 

Ludd,  126. 

M'Call,    Brigadier-General    PoUak, 

110. 
Maclean,  Brigadier- General,  142. 
Mejdel,  104. 

Meldrum,  Brigadier-General,  62. 
Mott,  Major-General,  186. 
Mount  of  Olives,  192. 
Mughar,  112. 
Mukhmas,  248. 
Mulebbis,  236. 

Nablus  road,  212. 
Nebi  Musa,  249. 
Nebi  Samwil,  141. 
Nejile,  90. 

O'Brien,  Colonel,  119. 

Palestine  Army,  composition  of, 

275. 
Palin,  Major-General,  99. 
Patron,  Captain,  113. 
Pemberton,  Colonel,  188. 
Perkins,  Lieutenant,  113. 
Primrose,  Captain  Hon.  Neil,  115. 

Ramaxlah,  151. 

Ramleh,  126. 

Raratongas,  37. 

Ras  et  Tawil,  218. 

Rushdi  trenches,  84. 

Ryrie,  Brigadier-General,  61. 

Saba,  Tel  el,  62. 

Sakaty,  Tel  el,  62. 

Saris,  137. 

Sarona,  239. 

Shea,  Major-General  H.,  59. 

Sheikh  Muannis,  157. 

Sheria,  84. 

Sherifeh,  187. 

Shilta,  154. 

Smith,  Rifleman,  180. 

Soba,  174. 

Solomon's  Pools,  175. 

Strategy  in  Palestine,  6. 

the  German  view,  271. 


INDEX 


295 


Suffa.  154. 

Supplying  the  front,  36. 
Surar,  wadi,  173. 
Sukereir,  wadi,  127. 

Talat  ED  DUMM,  246. 
Temperley,  93. 
Thornhill,  Corporal,  180. 
Train,  Corporal,  V.C,   180. 
Turkish  line  of  communications,  15. 
moral,  273. 


Watson,  Brigadier-General,  178. 
Whines,  Corporal,  180. 
Whitehill,  215. 

Wingfiold-Digby,  Captain,   116. 
Wire  roads,  40. 

Yebnah,  110. 

Yilderim  undertaking.  13. 

von  Falkeniiayn's  doubts,  269. 

Zamby,  215. 
Zeitun  ridge,  149. 


/ 


Printed  by  T.  and  A.  Constablk,  Printers  to  His  .Viajeaty 
at  tlie  Edinburgh  Univeraity  Prc^s 


\ 


DUE  DATE 

APn 

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2  i  mz 

MAYI  8 

1992 

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Printed 
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COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

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